Summary of The Scarlet Pimpernel The historical novel entitled The Scarlet Pimpernel is a classic and truly deserves this prestigious title. The author of this enthralling 267 page book is Baroness Emma Orczy and it was published by Dodd, Mead & Company in the year 1964. The scene is set in the terrorized Paris of revolutionary France in the 1800's. During this time period nobody was safe from the horrifying grasp of "Madame la Guillotine" which claimed hundreds of lives every day. But a few brave men headed by a courageous person known only as the anonymous Scarlet Pimpernel, helped the innocent escape from their deaths.