# De Batz — El Dorado character guide

> De Batz in El Dorado by Baroness Orczy.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** de Batz, Baron de Batz, the Baron de Batz

**First appearance:** 0004-part-i-iii-the-demon-chance

## Snapshot

A royalist conspirator whose armed intervention at the Château d'Ourde could save the Dauphin — or doom the hostages held in the coach below.

## Who they are

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.

## Relationships

### [Armand St. Just](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/el_dorado_se/characters/armand_st_just)

_friendship_

Armand and De Batz are fellow royalist conspirators, working together to rescue aristocrats from the guillotine.

### [Armand St. Just](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/el_dorado_se/characters/armand_st_just)

_friendship_

Armand and De Batz are fellow royalist conspirators, working together to rescue aristocrats from the guillotine.

### [Armand St. Just](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/el_dorado_se/characters/armand_st_just)

_friendship_

Armand and De Batz are fellow royalist conspirators, working together to rescue aristocrats from the guillotine.

## In the story

### [In the Théâtre National](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/el_dorado_se/chapters/part-i-i-in-the-th-tre-national)

De Batz is Armand's companion in the darkened box. He is cynical and calculating, explaining the workings of the new spy law and advocating patience for the sake of monarchist restoration.

### [Widely Divergent Aims](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/el_dorado_se/chapters/part-i-ii-widely-divergent-aims)

Accosts Armand in the street; argues that the Scarlet Pimpernel should feed the revolution rather than starve it; boasts of his own survival through bribery.

### [The Demon Chance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/el_dorado_se/chapters/part-i-iii-the-demon-chance)

Manipulative and opportunistic, de Batz uses Jeanne Lange to keep Armand engaged in his schemes.

### [IV: Mademoiselle Lange](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/el_dorado_se/chapters/part-i-iv-mademoiselle-lange)

Accompanies Armand to Jeanne's lodgings, teases Armand about his discretion, and mentions the Scarlet Pimpernel.

### [The Temple Prison](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/el_dorado_se/chapters/part-i-v-the-temple-prison)

De Batz watches Armand leave, then walks through the terror-filled streets of Paris, past the guillotine and forced labor camps, to the Temple Prison where he seeks an audience with citizen Héron.

### [VI: The Committee's Agent](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/el_dorado_se/chapters/part-i-vi-the-committee-s-agent)

The Royalist conspirator negotiates with Héron for immunity, offering money in exchange for being left alone, but is forced to agree not to interfere with the Dauphin.

### [The Most Precious Life in Europe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/el_dorado_se/chapters/part-i-vii-the-most-precious-life-in-europe)

De Batz is led through the Temple Prison by Héron, studying the layout and security for a potential rescue of the Dauphin. He reflects on the need for money, courage, and ingenuity, and resents the Scarlet Pimpernel's possible interference.

### [Arcades Ambo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/el_dorado_se/chapters/part-i-viii-arcades-ambo)

Negotiates with Héron, bribes him for immunity, and reveals information about Armand St. Just to divert suspicion from his own rescue plans.

### [X: Shadows](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/el_dorado_se/chapters/part-i-x-shadows)

Jeanne suspects he was involved in Héron's visit that afternoon.

### [The Weary Search](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/el_dorado_se/chapters/part-i-xvi-the-weary-search)

De Batz is briefly referenced in Armand's memory as having followed a guide through the Galerie des Prisonniers two days earlier.

### [It Is About the Dauphin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/el_dorado_se/chapters/part-i-xix-it-is-about-the-dauphin)

Mentioned by Héron as the suspected mastermind behind the Dauphin's disappearance.

### [XXV: Paris Once More](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/el_dorado_se/chapters/part-ii-xxv-paris-once-more)

Stout, florid man dining with Héron; he is involved in the Dauphin affair and is under surveillance by Héron.

### [XLI: When Hope Was Dead](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/el_dorado_se/chapters/part-iii-xli-when-hope-was-dead)

Percy's letter is addressed to him, giving a rendezvous at the Chapelle of the Holy Sepulchre to help save the Dauphin.

### [XLVI: Others in the Park](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/el_dorado_se/chapters/part-iii-xlvi-others-in-the-park)

Mentioned by Marguerite as possibly being in the park with his friends, preparing an attack.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/el_dorado_se/characters/de_batz
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/el_dorado_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/el_dorado_se/characters