# Collot d'Herbois — The Elusive Pimpernel character guide

> Collot d'Herbois in The Elusive Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Collot, Citizen Collot

**First appearance:** 0002-i-paris-1793

## Snapshot

A brutal ex-actor turned revolutionary butcher, sent from Lyons to make sure Chauvelin's trap finally snaps shut.

## Who they are

Collot d'Herbois arrives in Boulogne as the Committee's enforcer, a man who rose from the gutter to invent the mass drownings at Lyons and measures everyone by his own low standard. He has neither Chauvelin's patriotic fervor nor Danton's strange selflessness, only a taste for notoriety and a willingness to wallow. His presence turns Chauvelin's elegant scheme into something coarser and more terrifying, and raises the price of failure for everyone involved.

## Relationships

### [Citizen Chauvelin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se/characters/citizen_chauvelin)

_professional_

Chauvelin and Collot d'Herbois are colleagues in the revolutionary government, working together on political matters.

### [Marguerite Blakeney](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se/characters/marguerite_blakeney)

_rivalry_

Collot d'Herbois is an antagonist to Marguerite, representing the revolutionary threat to her and her husband.

### [Sir Percy Blakeney](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se/characters/sir_percy_blakeney)

_rivalry_

Collot d'Herbois is an enemy of Sir Percy, aligned with Chauvelin in hunting the Scarlet Pimpernel.

### [Citizen Chauvelin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se/characters/citizen_chauvelin)

_professional_

Chauvelin and Collot d'Herbois are colleagues in the revolutionary government, working together on political matters.

### [Citizen Chauvelin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se/characters/citizen_chauvelin)

_professional_

Chauvelin and Collot d'Herbois are colleagues in the revolutionary government, working together on political matters.

### [Marguerite Blakeney](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se/characters/marguerite_blakeney)

_rivalry_

Collot d'Herbois is an antagonist to Marguerite, representing the revolutionary threat to her and her husband.

### [Sir Percy Blakeney](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se/characters/sir_percy_blakeney)

_rivalry_

Collot d'Herbois is an enemy of Sir Percy, aligned with Chauvelin in hunting the Scarlet Pimpernel.

## In the story

### [I: Paris: 1793](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se/chapters/i-paris-1793)

Collot d'Herbois boasts of his 'Noyades' in Lyons and suggests similar drownings for Paris.

### [Triumph](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se/chapters/xx-triumph)

Dispatched to Boulogne with full powers and the amnesty proclamation; rides furiously to arrive within twenty-four hours.

### [XXI: Suspense](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se/chapters/xxi-suspense)

Arrives in Boulogne on the evening of the 22nd, sent by the Committee of Public Safety.

### [The Hostage](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se/chapters/xxiii-the-hostage)

Mentioned as having ridden from Paris to assist Chauvelin in the plot against the Scarlet Pimpernel.

### [Colleagues](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se/chapters/xxiv-colleagues)

Collot is skeptical of Chauvelin's schemes, preferring summary execution and brutal reprisals. He suggests threatening Boulogne families to prevent Marguerite's escape.

### [The Unexpected](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se/chapters/xxv-the-unexpected)

Mentioned as having just left Chauvelin after their conversation.

### [XXXI: Final Dispositions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se/chapters/xxxi-final-dispositions)

Brutish and anxious, he questions Chauvelin's plan but ultimately agrees, preparing to ride to Paris with the letter.

### [The English Spy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se/chapters/xxxiii-the-english-spy)

Assists Chauvelin in overseeing the writing and orders the soldiers to control the crowd, but is thrown into confusion by the sudden darkness.

### [XXXIV: The Angelus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se/chapters/xxxiv-the-angelus)

Mentioned as having left with the decoy letter, now well on his way to Paris.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se/characters/collot_d_herbois
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_elusive_pimpernel_se/characters