The year is 1623, the place Haarlem in the Netherlands. Diogenes - the first Sir Percy Blakeney, the Scarlet Pimpernel's ancestor - and his friends Pythagoras and Socrates defend justice and the royalist cause. The famous artist Frans Hals also makes an appearance in this historical adventure. Orczy maintains that Hal's celebrated portrait of The Laughing Cavalier is actually a portrayal of the Scarlet Pimpernel's ancestor.
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.
Percy Blake, the forefather of the Scarlet Pimpernel, is hired to kidnap a young woman with sensitive information regarding the potential assassination of a prince. It’s a complex family drama that ties into a mystery surrounding an artist’s most acclaimed work. Percy Blake is the adopted son of Dutch painter Frans Hals. He was originally born to an English nobleman who eventually abandoned he and his mother. Set in seventeenth-century Holland, Blake works on the streets under the alias, Diogenes. He’s a mercenary who’s hired to kidnap a young woman who discovers her brother is a part of plot to kill the Prince of Orange. To prevent her from spoiling their plans, Blake apprehends his target but slowly has a change of heart. The Laughing Cavalier: The Story of the Ancestor of the Scarlet Pimpernel is a rich blend of fact and fiction. Baroness Orczy expands the legend of the famous hero in a new and exciting way. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Laughing Cavalier: The Story of the Ancestor of the Scarlet Pimpernel is both modern and readable.
The year is 1623, the place Haarlem in the Netherlands. Diogenes - the first Sir Percy Blakeney, the Scarlet Pimpernel's ancestor - and his friends Pythagoras and Socrates defend justice and the royalist cause. The famous artist Frans Hals also makes an appearance in this historical adventure. Orczy maintains that Hal's celebrated portrait of The Laughing Cavalier is actually a portrayal of the Scarlet Pimpernel's ancestor.
If the snow had come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, or other than it was.... If one of the three men had been more thirsty, or the other more insistent.... If it had been any other day of the year, or any other hour of any other day.... If the three philosophers had taken their walk abroad in any other portion of the city of Haarlem.... If.... Nay! but there's no end to the Ifs which I might adduce in order to prove to you beyond a doubt that but for an extraordinary conglomeration of minor circumstances, the events which I am about to relate neither would nor could ever have taken place. For indeed you must admit that had the snow come down again or the weather been colder, or wetter, the three philosophers would mayhap all have felt that priceless thirst and desire for comfort which the interior of a well-administered tavern doth so marvellously assuage. And had it been any other day of the year or any other hour of that same last day of the year 1623, those three philosophers would never have thought of whiling away the penultimate hour of the dying year by hanging round the Grootemarkt in order to see the respectable mynheer burghers and the mevrouws their wives, filing into the cathedral in a sober and orderly procession, with large silver-clasped Bibles under their arms, and that air of satisfied unctuousness upon their faces which is best suited to the solemn occasion of watch-night service, and the desire to put oneself right with Heaven before commencing a New Year of commercial and industrial activity.
Thus am I proved right in saying that but for the conglomeration of minor circumstanceswithin the past half hour, the great events which subsequently linked the fate of a pennilessforeign adventurer with that of a highly honourable and highly esteemed family of Haarlemnever would or could have occurred.For had the three philosophers adhered to their usual custom of retiring to the warmth andcomfort of the "Lame Cow," situate in the Kleine Hout Straat, as soon as the streets nolonger presented an agreeable lolling place, they would never have known of the tumultthat went on at this hour under the very shadow of the cathedral.But seeing it all going on before them, what could they do but join in the fun?The details of the picture which had the low postern gate for its central interest weregradually becoming more defined. Now the figure of a woman showed clearly under theflickering light of the resin torches, a woman with rough, dark hair that hung loosely roundher face, and bare arms and legs, of which the flesh, blue with cold, gleamed weirdly againstthe dark oak panelling of the gate.She was stooping forward, with arms outstretched and feet that vainly tried to keep afoothold of the ground which snow and frost had rendered slippery. The hands themselveswere not visible, for one of them was lost in the shadows behind her and the otherdisappeared in the grip of six or eight rough hands.Through the mist and in the darkness it was impossible to see whether the woman wasyoung or old, handsome or ill-favoured, but her attitude was unmistakable. The men in theforefront of the crowd were trying to drag her away from the shelter of the gate to whichshe clung with desperate obstinacy.Her repeated cries of "For the love of Christ!" only provoked loud and bibulous laughter.Obviously she was losing her hold of the ground, and was gradually being dragged out intothe open."For the love of Christ, let me go, kind sirs!"
A 1913 adventure book by Baroness Orczy, The Laughing Cavalier centers on Percy Blakeney, a foreign adventurer and the ancestor of the Scarlet Pimpernel. The events of the story occur in Holland from 1623-1624. The plot has many twists and turns that engage the reader. Some chapters are interesting and surprising while others can create panic and havoc among the readers. The title character is so indulging that readers are compelled to go through the pages to find what happens next. The Laughing Cavalier by Baroness Orczy is a masterpiece that takes the reader through a roller-coaster of emotions. The book has been deemed a classic and has been a great collection of ideas comprehended into a single draft to be read by readers of several age groups.
