What Is The Scarlet Pimpernel?

The Scarlet Pimpernel is the name of a classic play as well as an escapade novel penned by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. The background of the novel is the French Revolution. The play initially underwent production as a record breaking one as an adaptation by Julia Neilson and Fred Terry.

The play initially released on the 15 of October in the year 1903 at Nottingham's Theatre Royal, however, it did not open to rave reviews. However, Terry believed in the play and went about re-writing the last act and released it in London, leading to a run of 122 performances. The novel went on to become a bestseller and Fred Terry had a huge hit credited to him, working on it for the rest of his life.

The plot of the play is regarded as a predecessor to spy fiction and superhero variety of fiction. The book spurred on several sequels and has been adapted into many formats for TV as well as cinema.