Castles in the Air

Baroness Orczy was a Hungarian who moved to London. She became a novelist, painter, and playwright. Orcy's book the Scarlet Pimpernel is her best-known work. Hector Ratichon. 'Heureux le peuple qui n'a pas d'histoire' is described by Orczy as follows. 'Ratichon is an unblushing liar, thief, a forger--anything you will; his vanity is past belief, his scruples are non-existent. How he escaped a convict settlement it is difficult to imagine, and hard to realize that he died--presumably some years after the event recorded in the last chapter of his autobiography--a respected member of the community, honoured by that same society which should have raised a punitive hand against him.' Ratichon served his country by tracking criminals, discovering conspiracies and denouncing traitors. His character is made likeable only by the humor that surrounds him.