The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy (Good, 1974, HC, 248 pages, Signet Classic)

"The Scarlet Pimpernel" is a historical novel set during the Reign of Terror following the beginning of the French Revolution. The Scarlet Pimpernel is the name of a gallant Englishman in the time of the Terrors, who, with his band of gentlemen, rescues nobles before they can be killed by the vicious government in revolutionary France. He is known by his symbol, a simple flower, the pimpernel. He succeeds by masterful use of disguises and strict silence of the group's movements. His identity is undisclosed to all but his men.

Marguerite Blakeney, French wife of a wealthy English dandy, is approached by the new French envoy to England with a threat to her brother's life if she does not help in his search for the Pimpernel...