Orczy, Emma Magdalena Rosalia Marie Josepha Barbara (1865–1947)

Hungarian-born English novelist. She wrote the historical adventure The Scarlet Pimpernel 1905. The foppish Sir Percy Blakeney, bold rescuer of victims of the French Revolution, appeared in many sequels, such as The Elusive Pimpernel 1908. She wrote other novels of a similarly romantic character, chiefly set in the same historical period.

Baroness Orczy was born in Tarnaörs, the daughter of Baron Felix Orczy. In 1881 she went to London to study art, and exhibited at the Royal Academy. She began to write 1895 and in 1900 published The Scarlet Pimpernel as a play, written in collaboration with her husband, Montague Barstow (died 1943). The success of the work on the stage led to its adaptation as a novel. She went on to write more than 40 novels, most of which were very popular. Her other work includes essays and detective stories. Links in the Chain of Life 1947 is an autobiography.