 Another aspect is the "Englishness" of the hero in the era when the British Empire began to shrink.As a writer, Orczy often alluded to historical events and figures but adapted these freely in creating her tales.Citizen Chauvelin, the recurring villain of the "Scarlet Pimpernel" series, is based to some extent on the real-life Bernard-François, marquis de Chauvelin, who survived the Revolutionary period to serve as an official under Napoleon.