Sir Percy Hits Back

Sir Percy Hits Back is one of many sequels to The Scarlet Pimpernel. It spends most of its time examining an unknown side of the series' villain, Chauvelin. Usually portrayed as a calculating, cold-hearted executioner, the character's softer side is shown as the reader discovers he is a father. It was an excellent example of how to make a character--even a villainous one--sympathetic to the reader. In the other books, Orczy habitually describes Chauvelin's hands as talon-like and sinister. ...