Órczy, born Emma ("Emmuska") Magdolna Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála Orczy de Orczi, was a Hungarian-British novelist and artist of noble origin. She is best known for her novel series featuring the Scarlet Pimpernel, a fictional hero who rescues French nobles from the guillotine during the French Revolution. Born in Tarnaörs, Hungary, Órczy was the only daughter of Baron Felix Orczy, a noted composer and conductor, and his wife Emma. She was educated in convent schools in Brussels and Paris and later studied at the West London School of Art.
In 1905, Órczy's novel The Scarlet Pimpernel became a favorite of British audiences and solidified her reputation as a successful author. She was also an accomplished artist and had her works exhibited at the Royal Academy in London. During the First World War, Órczy founded the Women of England's Active Service League, an organization that focused on enlisting female volunteers for active service.
Órczy's first venture into fiction was with crime stories. Among her most popular characters was The Old Man in the Corner, who was featured in a series of twelve British movies from 1924. She married Montague Barstow in 1894, whom she had met while studying at the Heatherby School of Art. Together they started to produce book and magazine illustrations and published an edition of Hungarian folktales. Órczy's first detective stories appeared in magazines and she became famous in 1903 with the stage version of the Scarlet Pimpernel.
Sir Percy Blakeney (Scarlet Pimpernel) Books
#
Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Scarlet Pimpernel
1905
2
I Will Repay
1906
3
The Elusive Pimpernel
1908
4
El Dorado
1913
5
The Laughing Cavalier
1914
6
Lord Tony's Wife
1916
7
The League Of The Scarlet Pimpernel
1919
8
The First Sir Percy
1921
9
The Triumph Of The Scarlet Pimpernel
1922
10
Pimpernel and Rosemary
1924
11
Sir Percy Hits Back
1927
12
The Adventures Of The Scarlet Pimpernel
1929
13
In the Rue Monge
1931
14
A Child of the Revolution
1932
15
The Way Of The Scarlet Pimpernel
1933
16
The Scarlet Pimpernel Looks at the World
1933
17
Sir Percy Leads The Band
1936
18
Mam'zelle Guillotine
1940
Sir Percy Blakeney (Scarlet Pimpernel) Series in Chronological Order
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Laughing Cavalier
1914
2
The First Sir Percy
1921
3
The Scarlet Pimpernel
1905
4
Sir Percy Leads The Band
1936
5
The League Of The Scarlet Pimpernel
1919
6
I Will Repay
1906
7
The Elusive Pimpernel
1908
8
The Way Of The Scarlet Pimpernel
1933
9
Lord Tony's Wife
1916
10
El Dorado
1913
11
Mam'zelle Guillotine
1940
12
The Triumph Of The Scarlet Pimpernel
1922
13
Sir Percy Hits Back
1927
14
The Adventures Of The Scarlet Pimpernel
1929
15
A Child of the Revolution
1932
16
In the Rue Monge
1931
17
Pimpernel and Rosemary
1924
18
The Scarlet Pimpernel Looks at the World
1933
Teahouse Detective Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Case of Miss Elliott
1905
2
The Old Man in the Corner
1908
3
Unravelled Knots
1926
Standalone Novels
#
Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Emperor's Candlesticks
1899
2
Beau Brocade
1907
3
Petticoat Rule
1910
4
Petticoat Government
1910
5
The Nest of the Sparrowhawk
1911
6
A True Woman/The Heart of a Woman
1911
7
Meadowsweet
1912
8
The Laughing Cavalier
1914
9
Leatherface
1916
10
The Man In Grey
1918
11
Pimpernel and Rosemary
1924
12
The Celestial City
1926
13
Blue Eyes and Gray
1929
14
In the Rue Monge
1931
15
Marivosa
1931
16
A Spy of Napoleon
1934
17
The uncrowned King
1935
18
The divine folly
1938
19
Pride of Race
1942
20
Will O' The Wisp
1947
21
The Duffield Peerage Case
2004
22
Fenchurch Street Mystery
2004
23
The York Mystery
2004
Short Story Collections
#
Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Lady Molly Of Scotland Yard
1910
2
Castles in the Air
1921
Non-Fiction Books
#
Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Links in the chain of life
2020
Emmuska Orczy Anthologies
#
Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror
1931
2
Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
1979
3
Rivals of Sherlock Holmes 2
1979
4
War Stories
1987
5
English Country House Murders
1988
6
Detection by Gaslight: 14 Victorian Detective Stories
1997
7
Murder On The Railways
2003
8
The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories
2018
9
The Edinburgh Mystery: And Other Tales of Scottish Crime