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The Scarlet Pimpernel is a classic adventure novel by Baroness Orczy. It was first published in 1905, and is seen as a precursor to the spy fiction and the superhero genres. It gave rise to several sequels, and has been adapted several times for television and film. The 1934 film directed by Harold Young , starring Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon, is widely regarded as the best. A 1997 Broadway musical based on the story was composed by Frank Wildhorn and written by Nan Knighton . Anagallis arvensis, the Scarlet Pimpernel The action takes place during the French Revolution, when a secret society of English aristocrats, called the "League of the Scarlet Pimpernel", is engaged in rescuing their French counterparts from the guillotine. Their leader, the Scarlet Pimpernel, takes his nickname from the small red flower (illustration, left) with which he signs his messages. No one except his small band of followers knows his true identity.
The Scarlet Pimpernel is arguably an early (perhaps the earliest) precursor of the superhero of American comic bookA comic book (sometimes called funnies or funny paper is a book or magazine and more recently a graphic novel in the artistic medium known as comics. American comic books have become closely associated with the superhero genre, but the subject matter of cs: he is an independently wealthy person who has a secret identity which he maintains in action by disguises, while in public life he appears as a politically irrelevant dandyA dandy is a man who rejects bourgeois values, devotes particular attention to his physical appearance, refines his language, and cultivates his hobbies. A dandy emulates aristocratic values, often without being an aristocrat himself, thus such a dandy is to draw attention away from himself. In his hero guise, he accomplishes good in a field in which the state is not competent to act with his superior fighting abilities. He even has a symbol in his name, which he does use as an emblem, though not on a costume. Bob KaneBob Kane creator of " Batman", was born as Robert Kahn on October 24, 1916. He legally changed his name to the familiar "Kane" at age 18. An eager young artist, Kane came to the burgeoning comics world in 1936 with his own book that led to various assignm's BatmanFor other uses see Batman (disambiguation Batman more properly known as The Batman and occasionally as The Bat-Man is a fictional character, a comic book superhero, first appearing in Detective Comics #27 in 1939. Most accounts suggest that he was co-crea later followed the same pattern.
Marguerite Blakeney, wife of the foolish, foppish and wealthy Sir Percy Blakeney, is of French origin, and is blackmailBlackmail is threatening to reveal substantially true information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a monetary demand is met. This information is usually of an embarrassing or damaging nature. As the information is substaed by the wily French revolutionary, Chauvelin, into betraying the Pimpernel—without realising that he is one and the same as her despised husband. The couple have become estranged as a result of Marguerite's denunciation of a French aristocratic family. However, all misunderstandings are eventually resolved and Percy and Marguerite return to England relatively unscathed. Some of the subsequent books in the series deal with other characters with whom Blakeney comes into contact, and with the activities of his followers, Lord Tony Dewhurst, Sir Andrew Ffoulkes, Lord Hastings and Armand St Just.