El Dorado · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in El Dorado by Baroness Orczy.
Skim names here — open a free preview to see character cards and Character Web beside the page as you read.
Marguerite Blakeney
major
Also known as Marguerite, Blakeney, Marguerite St. Just, Lady 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
major
Also known as Percy, Sir Percy Blakeney, Blakeney, the Scarlet Pimpernel
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
major
Also known as citizen Chauvelin, Citizen 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
major
Also known as Armand, St. Just, 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
supporting
Also known as Sir Andrew Ffoulkes, Ffoulkes, Sir Andrew
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
supporting
Also known as Jeanne, citizeness Lange, Lange, Mademoiselle 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.
De Batz
supporting
Also known as de Batz, Baron de Batz, the Baron de Batz
De Batz moves through the shadows of the rescue plot as the League's man on the ground, the one whose attack on Chauvelin's party is both hoped for and dreaded. His presence turns every signal in the night wood into a question of timing: strike too soon and the prisoners pay, strike too late and the child slips away. For Marguerite and Armand, bound in the carriage, he is the terrible variable on which their lives and Percy's honour hang.
The Dauphin
supporting
Also known as little Capet, Capet, Louis Capet, young Capet, Louis XVII
Known to his captors only as little Capet, the boy is less a presence than an obligation: the living pledge that binds the League's honour and Percy's own. His friends at Mantes resist letting him leave France, and every day of delay tightens the screws on the man who has sworn to see him safe. Around this unseen child the novel's early tension coils — a rescue that cannot wait, and a rescuer who will not abandon it.
Héron
supporting
Also known as citizen Héron, Citizen Héron, Héron
Héron commands the escort through the dark wood, all growls and volleys of cursing, impatient with suspense and ready to leave corpses for the wolves if the prisoner plays him false. He defers to Chauvelin's planning but keeps the whip hand — the woman's life, he makes clear, answers for the others. His coarse certainty is the hard wall against which the League's cleverness must break, and his temper is the spark that could ignite the whole ambush.
Lord Tony
minor
Also known as Tony, Lord Tony, my Lord Tony
A jovial member of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, aiding rescues.
Simon
minor
Also known as Madame Simon, citoyen Simon, old Simon, Papa Simon
A jailer and caretaker of the Dauphin in the Temple prison.
Madame Belhomme
minor
Also known as Belhomme, worthy Madame Belhomme
A kind-hearted woman who shelters Jeanne Lange during the chaos.
Cochefer
minor
Also known as citizen Cochefer, Citizen Cochefer
A minor revolutionary official involved in the Temple prison affairs.
Danton
minor
Also known as Citizen Danton
Prominent revolutionary leader, briefly referenced in political discussions.
Robespierre
minor
Also known as Citizen Robespierre, citizen Robespierre
Influential revolutionary figure, mentioned in the context of power struggles.
Dupont
minor
Also known as citoyen Dupont
A minor citizen or official encountered during the narrative.
Lord Hastings
minor
Also known as my Lord Hastings, Hastings, Sir Jeremiah Wallescourt
An English nobleman briefly appearing in the League's social circle.
Suzanne
minor
Also known as Suzanne
A young girl associated with the royalist circle, possibly a servant.
Aunt Marie
minor
Also known as Aunt Marie
An elderly relative of the St. Just family, offering domestic support.
Chambertin
minor
Also known as Monsieur Chambertin, M. Chambertin
A wine merchant or minor character involved in the Parisian underworld.
Marie Antoinette
minor
Also known as Queen Marie Antoinette, poor Queen Marie Antoinette
The executed queen, mother of the Dauphin, mourned by royalists.
Célimène
minor
Also known as repentant Célimène
A character from Molière's play, referenced in a literary analogy.
Edwards
minor
Also known as Edwards
A minor English ally or servant of the Scarlet Pimpernel.
Collot d'Herbois
minor
Also known as citizen Collot, citizen Collot d'Herbois
A revolutionary figure mentioned in passing during political scenes.
