Emmuska Orczy

Emmuska Orczy Orczy, Baroness

The year is 1623, the place Haarlem in the Netherlands. Diogenes - the first Sir Percy Blakeney, the Scarlet Pimpernel's ancestor - and his friends Pythagoras and Socrates defend justice and the royalist cause. The famous artist Frans Hals also makes an appearance in this historical adventure. Orczy maintains that Hal's celebrated portrait of The Laughing Cavalier is actually a portrayal of the Scarlet Pimpernel's ancestor.

The Laughing Cavalier

Joseph Conrad

Rudyard Kipling

Wilkie Collins

Agatha Christie

The Ultimate British Mystery Megapack FIVE MYSTERIES FOR ONE LOW PRICE! THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES By Agatha Christie Agatha Christie introduces the world to her detective extraordinaire Hercule Poirot in this 'cozy mystery' classic. 'Styles' was Christie's first published novel, introducing not only the Belgian super-sleuth but also Inspector (later, Chief Inspector) Japp, and Arthur Hastings. When we first meet Poirot, a Belgian refugee of the Great War, he is settling in England near the home of Emily Cavendish, who helped him to his new life. His friend Hastings arrives as a guest at her home. When a woman is killed, Poirot uses his detective skills to solve the mystery. THE SECRET AGENT By Joseph Conrad Few people realize that Joseph Conrad invented the terrorist-spy genre in 1907 with his novella The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale. The Secret Agent was one of the “the three works of literature most cited in the American media" around the two weeks following September 11, 2001.” The story is set in London in 1886 and deals largely with the life of Mr. Verloc and his job as a spy. 'The Secret Agent' is notable as one of Conrad's later political novels, which move away from his typical tales of seafaring. The novel deals broadly with the notions of anarchism, espionage, and terrorism and depicts the type of anarchist and revolutionary groups which sprouted up before many of the social uprisings of the early twentieth century. Recently, 'The Secret Agent' was ranked the 46th best novel of the 20th century by Modern Library. THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING By Rudyard Kipling Billy Fish: “He wants to know if you are gods.” Peachy Carnehan: “Not gods - Englishmen. The next best thing.” Rudyard Kipling's 1888 novella 'The Man Who Would Be King' is an under-rated gem. The powerful story of lost treasure, love and human weakness was adapted into a Best Picture nominated movie in 1976 but has largely been forgotten by today's generation. A CHRISTMAS TRAGEDY By Baroness Orczy A Five Part Lady Molly Mystery! From the author of The Scarlet Pimpernell, comes a story featuring one of literature's first female detectives. Molly Robertson-Kirk a.k.a. Lady Molly shares the same mental prowess as C. Auguste Dupin and Sherlock Holmes but brings a woman's wit to the table making for a formidable crime buster. Join her as she solves the murder of Major Ceeley on Christmas Eve in Inverness, Scotland. THE DEAD SECRET By Wilkie Collins The secret of the title is the parentage of the heroine, Rosamund Treverton, who has been passed off as the daughter of the wealthy former actress Mrs Treverton of Porthgenna Tower, but is in fact the illegitimate child of her servant Sarah Leeson by a local miner (Mrs Treverton's motive was to provide her husband with a child, being apparently unable to bear children herself). Sarah writes down the details of the secret from the words of the dying Mrs Treverton, and hides the paper bearing the message in an unused room at Porthgenna. Much of the novel is set in Cornwall, one of Collins' favourite English counties, which also features in his early melodrama 'Basil.'

The Mysterious Affair at Styles, the Secret Agent, a Christmas Tragedy, the Man Who Would Be King and the Dead Secret

British Mystery Megapack Volume 3

Baroness, (Emusca/Emmuska/Emma Magdalena Rosalia Marie Josepha Barbara) Orczy, Mrs Barstow (1865-1947) was a British novelist, playwright and artist of Hungarian origin. She was most notable for her series of novels featuring the Scarlet Pimpernel. Some of her paintings were exhibited at the Royal Academy in London. Her parents left Hungary in 1868, fearful of the threat of a peasant revolution. They lived in Budapest, Brussels, and Paris, where Emma studied music without success. Finally, in 1880, the family moved to London where they lodged with their countryman Francis Pichler. In 1903, she and her husband, Montague MaClean Barstow, wrote a play based on one of her short stories about an English aristocrat, Sir Percy Blakeney, Bart., who rescued French aristocrats from the French revolution: The Scarlet Pimpernel. She went on to write over a dozen sequels featuring Sir Percy Blakeney, his family, and the other members of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, of which the first, I Will Repay (1906), was the most popular. The last Pimpernel book, Mam'zelle Guillotine, was published in 1940. She also wrote popular mystery fiction and many adventure romances.

The Bronze Eagle

The Scarlet Pimpernel

Castles in the Air By Baroness Emmuska Orczy Baroness Emma Magdolna Rozalia Maria Jozefa Borbala "Emmuska" Orczy de Orczi; 23 September 1865 - 12 November 1947, was a Hungarian-born British novelist, playwright and artist of noble origin. She is most known for her series of novels featuring the Scarlet Pimpernel. Some of her paintings were exhibited at the Royal Academy in London. They had very little money, and Orczy started to work with her husband as a translator and an illustrator to supplement his low earnings. John Montague Orczy-Barstow, their only child, was born on 25 February 1899. She started writing soon after his birth but her first novel, The Emperor's Candlesticks (1899), was a failure. She did, however, find a small following with a series of detective stories in the Royal Magazine. Her next novel, In Mary's Reign (1901), did better. In 1903, she and her husband wrote a play based on one of her short stories about an English aristocrat, Sir Percy Blakeney, Bart., who rescued French aristocrats from the French Revolution: The Scarlet Pimpernel. She submitted her novelization of the story under the same title to 12 publishers. While waiting for the decisions of these publishers, Fred Terry and Julia Neilson accepted the play for production in the West End. Initially, it drew small audiences, but the play ran four years in London, broke many stage records, was translated and produced in other countries, and underwent several revivals. This theatrical success generated huge sales for the novel.

Emmuska Orczy Orczy, Baroness

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