The turn of the century was primetime for excellent writing and in various styles. Swashbuckling stories set in historical time periods wasn’t just for the pulp magazines, either. As such, Baroness Emma Orczy crafted and created excellent heroes and stories that were centered around romance, adventure, and intrigue.
Today on the blog, we are going to briefly examine the life and literary works of Baroness Orczy to better understand her achievements and why they matter to us as writers.
Early life
Baroness Emmuska Orczy (better known as Baroness Emmuska Orczy) was born on Sept. 23, 1865 in Hungary. While Hungarian born, she would be remembered as a British novelist.
She was the only child of Baron Felix Orczy and was educated in Brussel, Paris, London, and showed works in the Royal Academy (Britannica). Her early motivations in writing showed her adept writing ability that would blossom later in life.
Literary Career
Her first novel came out in 1899 and was titled The Emperor’s Candlesticks. In 1905, she would pen The Scarlet Pimpernel, which became her most famous works. With the success of this novel, she would write various adventures featuring the daring Englishman, Blakely, and his exploits in historical settings.
Blakeney would travel across the Channel between England and France to rescue French aristocrats before their execution during the “Reign of Terror.”
“After each rescue, he (Blankeney) leaves a card displaying a small red flower–a scarlet pimpernel,” states The Guardian. “…While it’s true that Orczy took pre-existing elements–a double life and special powers go back to Greek Mythology–she then joined them … and marked each adventure with a calling card” (Hodgkinson).
These stories included The Elusive Pimpernel (1908), and The Way of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1933). Additionally, she would write detective stories, including Lady Molly of Scotland Yard (1910) and Unraveled Knots (1925), a historical biography, and memoirs.
Moreover, she worked with her husband, Montague Barstow, on many theatrical productions, which helped further her career. Orczy also had the privilege of generating one of the first female detectives, who prefers brains over brawn.
Death
Baroness Orczy died on November 12, 1947, in London, England.
Works Cited
“Baroness Orczy.” Britannica. Sept. 19, 2023.
Hodgkinson, Thomas. “Beat it Batman–this foppish baronet was the world’s first superhero.” The Guardian. March 9th, 2022. Web. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/mar/09/batman-wonder-woman-black-widow-worlds-first-superhero-scarlet-pimpernel-orczy
