El Dorado
Free public-domain edition — preview in your browser, no account required for the first chapter.
Preview free · sign up to save progress, download to your shelf, and sync with the apps
Already have an account? Sign in
This gripping tale of heroism and betrayal offers a thrilling continuation of the Scarlet Pimpernel saga, exploring the human cost of revolution and the power of sacrifice.
Edition details
Book Summary
In this sequel to The Scarlet Pimpernel, Sir Percy Blakeney returns to Revolutionary Paris to rescue the imprisoned Dauphin. Betrayed by his brother-in-law Armand St. Just, Percy faces capture by the ruthless Chauvelin, leading to a tense struggle of sacrifice, disguise, and daring escape.
Set during the Reign of Terror, El Dorado follows the Scarlet Pimpernel’s perilous mission to save the young Dauphin from the Temple Prison. Armand St. Just, manipulated by the Royalist conspirator Baron de Batz and his love for actress Jeanne Lange, betrays Percy to Chauvelin. Percy is captured and chained, while Marguerite Blakeney and Armand are taken as hostages. Through a series of daring disguises and bribes, Percy escapes, freeing Marguerite and Armand. The novel culminates in a tense flight to the coast, where Percy reveals his plan to use de Batz’s plot as cover. Themes of love, loyalty, and redemption intertwine as characters grapple with guilt and the brutal cost of revolution.
Reading guide
Go deeper in El Dorado
Character guides, themes, chapter companions — plus Character Web, narrative arc, and theme heatmap teasers that unlock fully beside the text in BetterReads.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book.
Marguerite Blakeney
Marguerite St. Just moves through Revolutionary Paris as Lady Blakeney, a woman whose wit and fame open doors but cannot quiet her private grief. Her love for her brother Armand wars with her devotion to a husband whose seeming frivolity masks depths she only half perceives, and her visit to Jeanne Lange reveals a jealousy she is ashamed to feel. Because she alone can bridge the worlds of London society and Paris intrigue, her choices quietly steer the rescue efforts around her.
Sir Percy Blakeney
Sir Percy Blakeney drifts through drawing rooms as a harmless, fashionable idler, yet his name is the one the Republic fears most. Captured and held in the Conciergerie, he answers Chauvelin's offers of mercy with laughter, refusing to trade the little Dauphin for his own life. His unshakable nerve and his refusal to let his wife see the man behind the pose make him the still center of every scheme and counter-scheme.
Chauvelin
Citizen Chauvelin stalks Paris with the quiet certainty of a man who has studied his quarry's heart. Baffled at Calais and Boulogne, he has learned that the Pimpernel cannot be caught by force but only through those he loves, and he wields Armand and Marguerite as instruments with bland, merciless courtesy. His cold reasoning and his willingness to exploit affection make him the story's most dangerous adversary.
Armand St. Just
Armand St. Just rides through the frozen streets of Paris with remorse gnawing at him, a man who has betrayed his chief and cannot bear to meet his sister's eyes. His devotion to Jeanne Lange overrides prudence and loyalty, and he follows Chauvelin like one bewitched, half-welcoming his own arrest if it might save her. His divided heart is the fault line along which the League's plans begin to crack.
Sir Andrew Ffoulkes
Sir Andrew Ffoulkes stands at Marguerite's side as hope drains away, offering the calm courage she cannot summon for herself. When Percy's letter arrives, he insists they follow it word for word, neither more nor less, trusting his friend's judgment even when it seems to abandon him. His quiet strength and unwavering obedience make him the anchor of the rescue effort in Percy's absence.
Jeanne Lange
Jeanne Lange sits by her fire with an open book she is not reading, her childlike face shadowed by a trouble she will not name. She loves Armand St. Just and speaks of him with shy blushes, yet she senses that his talk of England and their future has grown vague and troubled. Her innocence and her hold on Armand's heart make her the pivot on which his loyalty and the League's safety turn.
Revolution and Terror
The book vividly depicts the French Revolution's Reign of Terror, showing how daily life in Paris continues amid constant executions, surveillance, and the ever-present threat of the guillotine, with the theatre and public amusements coexisting alongside state-sanctioned violence.
Sacrifice and Redemption
Characters repeatedly risk their lives for others, notably the Scarlet Pimpernel's willingness to die for the Dauphin and Armand's offer to trade his own life for Jeanne's, exploring themes of atonement for past sins through self-sacrifice.
Love and Loyalty
Romantic love, familial bonds, and loyalty to comrades are central, as seen in Marguerite's devotion to Percy, Armand's passion for Jeanne, and the unwavering commitment of the League to the Scarlet Pimpernel's mission.
Betrayal and Guilt
Armand's treachery against the Scarlet Pimpernel, motivated by love and manipulation, drives a deep sense of guilt and shame, with characters grappling with the moral weight of their actions and the desire for forgiveness.