"Elizabeth Sparrow has delved deep into the murky world of espionage to uncover the man behind Baroness Orczy's fictional Scarlet Pimpernel. Having escaped the guillotine at Lyon, Louis Bayard's life was a web of intrigue. Of bourgeois origin, yet living on the fringes of high society, he was paid by the British Government, with authority from Louis XVIII to act in his name and the position of ministerial aide under Talleyrand in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was able with his league of Le Trs to destabilise successive French governments - finally even the Emperor Napoleon. This Bayard had a profound influence on his own time and the effects are still felt in the 21st century."--Book jacket."Elizabeth Sparrow has delved deep into the murky world of espionage to uncover the man behind Baroness Orczy's fictional Scarlet Pimpernel. Having escaped the guillotine at Lyon, Louis Bayard's life was a web of intrigue. Of bourgeois origin, yet living on the fringes of high society, he was paid by the British Government, with authority from Louis XVIII to act in his name and the position of ministerial aide under Talleyrand in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was able with his league of Le Trs to destabilise successive French governments - finally even the Emperor Napoleon. This Bayard had a profound influence on his own time and the effects are still felt in the 21st century."--Book jacket.