The Scarlet Pimpernel. The Adventures of the Secret Spy

115 Pages·2016·3.8 MB·English

by  Orczy Emma.

Baroness Orczv
The Scarlet
The Adventures of the Secret Spy
Text adaptation by Emma Berridge
Activities by Eleanor Donaldson
Editor: Emma Berridge
Design and art direction: Nadia Maestri
Computer graphics: Sara Blasigh
Illustrations: Alfredo Belli
Picture research: Laura Lagomarsino
Original text by Baroness Orczy:
© Sara Orczy-Barstow Brown
© 2005 Black Cat Publishing,
an imprint of Cideb Editrice, Genoa, Canterbury
First edition: April 2005
Picture credits:
© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS: 5; © Historical
Picture Archive/CORBIS: 18, 77; © Leonard de
Selva/CORBIS: 39; © Reuters/CORBIS: 79.
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Baroness Orczy 5
The Characters 9
To the Guillotine 10
chapter one
ACTIVITIES 15
19
INTERNET PROJECT
Signed... the Scarlet Pimpernel 20
chapter two
ACTIVITIES 25
CHAPTER THREE MargOt 28
ACTIVITIES 34
The French Revolution
37
INTERNET PROJECT 41
CHAPTER FOUR A Trap 43
ACTIVITIES 47
Lord Grenville’s Ball
chapter five 51
ACTIVITIES 56
chapter six A Promise
ACTIVITIES
CHAPTER SEVEN A Secret 69
ACTIVITIES 74
Eighteenth-century Theatre
77
INTERNET PROJECT 81
CHAPTER EIGHT Margot Takes Action 83
ACTIVITIES 87
CHAPTER NINE The Trap Closes 90
ACTIVITIES 94
CHAPTER TEN It’s the Scarlet Pimpernel! 97
ACTIVITIES 105
INTERNET PROJECT 109
P E T Cambridge Preliminary English Test-style exercises
T: grades 5/6 Trinity-style exercises (Grades 5/6)
This story is recorded in full.
P E These symbols indicate the beginning and end of the extracts
linked to the listening activities.
Baroness Orczy
(1928).
Baroness Orczy
Hmmuska Magdelena Rosalia Maria Josefa Barbara was the full
name given to Baroness Orczy, born in Hungary on 23 September
1865. It is not surprising, then, that as an author> we know her
simply as Baroness Orczy.
She was the daughter of Baron Felix Orczy, a musical composer
and a friend of the famous composers Wagner and Liszt.
Baroness Orczy's family went to live in Brussels and then in
London. Although later she wrote in English, she did not learn
English until she was 15 years old.
In London she went to art school, where she met her husband.
Both she and her husband earned money by drawing pictures for
*
books and magazines. After this, Baroness Orczy decided to
become a writer.
Crime stories were very popular at that time, especially after the
success of Sherlock Holmes. The detective in her first crime
stories was known by the name of The Old Man in the Corner'.
This was because the Old Man in the Corner solved crimes
without even leaving his chair. The first collection of these stories
was published in 1905 with the title The Case of Miss Elliot. It was
one of the most popular detective novels of the early 1900s. The
Old Man in the Corner is quite different to other detective
heroes of his time because he does not just use his intelligence
to solve crimes in a cold, scientific way. He also understands
the criminals and their reasons for committing the crimes. But
Baroness Orczy is best known for another character, the Scarlet
Pimpernel.
The Scarlet Pimpernel originally became known in 1903. Baroness
Orczy and her husband wrote a play for the theatre. The play
was set at the time of the French Revolution. It had a lot of action
and beautiful costumes. The hero of the play was the Scarlet
Pimpernel. He saved the lives of French aristocrats by helping
them escape to safety. As an aristocrat herself, there is no doubt
that Baroness Orczy had some sympathy with the French
aristocrats of the French Revolution and, therefore, her hero. She
then wrote a book using the adventures from the play, but most
publishers did not think this was a good idea. They felt the story
was really written for the theatre and could not be a book.
But there was no need to worry. The book became very popular
as well and several film versions of the stories in the book were
6
made. One of the most famous was a film directed by Harold
Young in 1934. When the film was made, the main actress fell in
love with the actor playing the Scarlet Pimpernel.
Baroness Orczy went to live in Monte Carlo during the Second
World War, and she died there in 1947. Her later books were not
as successful as her earlier ones, but she will always be known as
the creator of the clever, courageous character we remember
when we think of this type of 'cloak-and-dagger' story.1
Q Timeline
Read about the author again and match the information below to
the correct point on the timeline.
a. Baroness Orczy’s first book of crime stories, The Case of Miss
Elliot} is published.
b. Baroness Orczy dies in Monte Carlo.
c. Baroness Orczy is born in Hungary.
d. The Scarlet Pimpernel becomes famous in the theatre.
e. Harold Young directs a film version of The Scarlet Pimpernel.
□
□ □
1865 1880 1900 1905
n □
1920 1930 1935 1945 1950
1. cloak-and-dagger story : see exercise 4, page 8.
Q
Answer these questions with another student or in class.
a. In which century is the story of the Scarlet Pimpernel set? What
do you know about this time in history?
b. Who does the Scarlet Pimpernel help to escape? Why do you
think Baroness Orczy wanted this person as a hero?
c. How do you think the Scarlet Pimpernel helps them?
Q
Look at the names of these famous characters. Match them to the
type of story we connect them to. You can choose more than one.
crime mystery and horror fantasy
adventure ghost stories love and romance tragedy
a. Sherlock Holmes ...................................
b. Romeo and Juliet ...................................
c. Robinson Crusoe ...................................
d. Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde ...................................
e. Peter Pan ...................................
f. Ebenezer Scrooge ...................................
Q
Find the expression ‘cloak-and-dagger’ in a dictionary. Look first
at the word ‘cloak’. What do the two words mean? Which type of
stories are cloak-and-dagger? With a partner try and think of
some stories you know. Who is the hero?
The Characters