''The First Sir Percy: An Adventure of the Laughing Cavalier'' is a 1920 adventure novel by
Baroness Orczy
Baroness Emma Orczy (full name: Emma Magdolna Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála Orczy de Orci) (; 23 September 1865 – 12 November 1947), usually known as Baroness Orczy (the name under which she was published) or to her family and friends as Em ...
featuring Sir Percy Blakeney, ancestor of Orczy's character
The Scarlet Pimpernel
''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' is the first novel in a series of historical fiction by Baroness Orczy, published in 1905. It was written after her stage play of the same title (co-authored with Montague Barstow) enjoyed a long run in London, having ...
. It is a direct sequel to ''
The Laughing Cavalier
The ''Laughing Cavalier'' (1624) is a portrait by the Dutch Golden Age painter Frans Hals in the Wallace Collection in London, which has been described as "one of the most brilliant of all Baroque portraits". The title is an invention of the Vict ...
'', occurring a few months after the events in the first book.
Plot summary
It is March 1624 in
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...
. Two months earlier, a mercenary/adventurer who calls himself "Diogenes" foiled the plot on the life of the
Stadtholder
In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...
. Now, he has finally met his real father, an English nobleman, and realized his true identity as Sir Percy Blake of Blakeney, heir to a large estate in
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
. He will soon marry Gilda Beresteyn, the woman he was paid to kidnap in January.
Blakeney has invited his friends from his mercenary days, "Socrates" and "Pythagoras," to the wedding. However, while traveling there, Pythagoras runs afoul of Lord
Stoutenburg
Stoutenburg is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Leusden, and lies about east of Amersfoort. Since 1998, a part of the village is a neighbourhood in Amersfoort.
History
The village was first mentione ...
(now a fugitive for his plot to kill the Stadtholder). Stoutenburg recognizes Pythagoras, gets him drunk, and has his servant Jan shoot him in the back and leave him for dead.
On the day of the wedding, Diogenes is concerned when Pythagoras does not show up. Socrates and a group of men go out to look for him. Just as the celebration is ending, Socrates returns with the wounded Pythagoras. After being given medical treatment, Pythagoras reveals that Stoutenburg has a new plan to assassinate the Stadtholder, namely, the
Archduchess Isabella has troops crossing the
IJssel
The IJssel (; nds-nl, Iessel(t) ) is a Dutch distributary of the river Rhine that flows northward and ultimately discharges into the IJsselmeer (before the 1932 completion of the Afsluitdijk known as the Zuiderzee), a North Sea natural harbour ...
and coming up from
Kleve
Kleve (; traditional en, Cleves ; nl, Kleef; french: Clèves; es, Cléveris; la, Clivia; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century ...
. They plan to seize the cities of
Arnhem
Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...
and
Nijmegen
Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...
, then march across the
Veluwe
The Veluwe () is a forest-rich ridge of hills (1100 km2) in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. The Veluwe features many different landscapes, including woodland, heath, some small lakes and Europe's largest sand drifts.
The Ve ...
and confront the Stadtholder with a vast army. On top of this, Stoutenburg is plotting to poison the Stadtholder using chemicals he has been taught to manufacture by
Francis Borgia
Francis Borgia ( ca-valencia, Francesc de Borja; es, Francisco de Borja; 28 October 1510 – 30 September 1572) was a Spanish Jesuit priest. The great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI, he was Duke of Gandía and a grandee of Spain. After th ...
.
The Stadtholder asks Diogenes to fight at his side. Diogenes is torn between his feelings for his new bride and the call of honour and duty. Gilda settles the matter when she brings him his sword, telling him he must leave for
Vorden
Vorden is a former municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands, about 10 kilometres south-east of Zutphen. On 1 January 2005 the municipality merged with Hummelo en Keppel, Steenderen, Hengelo en Zelhem, to form the new municipality Bronck ...
within the hour.
Gilda's brother, Nicholaes, travels with Diogenes as far as
Barneveld but on returning home, he tries to convince Gilda that her husband is a traitor and is in league with the Archduchess.
In Vorden, Diogenes delivers the Stadtholder's orders to Messire Marquet and his troops. En route to
Wageningen
Wageningen () is a municipality and a historic city in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. It is famous for Wageningen University, which specialises in life sciences. The municipality had a population of in , of which many t ...
, he is suddenly chased and shot at by men on horses. Plunging into the river
IJseel to evade his attackers, his horse is shot through the neck and the waters sweep over his head.
Four days pass and there is no news from Diogenes. The archduchess's troops have crossed the IJseel and overrun
Gelderland
Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...
. Nicholaes has been sent to Amersfoot to tell his father of the Stadtholder's coming and that they must evacuate the town. Fugitives from
Ede have reached the Stadtholder's camp at
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
and it soon becomes obvious that Diogenes has failed to deliver orders to Messire Marquet and Mynheer De Keysere.
Gilda is worried, but refuses to believe her husband can have failed. She watches for him from the window and eventually spots him riding into the city. On hearing the news, Nicholaes exclaims that Diogenes' return is impossible but won't say any more when questioned. He then tries to get the Stadtholder away before he can talk to Diogenes, insisting that Diogenes is in league with the Archduchess. When Diogenes, weary and dazed, arrives, Nicholaes attacks him with cries of "Assassin!" but Gilda stops the fight.
Diogenes, Pythagoras, and Socrates follow Nicholaes and manage to frustrate his plans to deliver the Stadtholder into the hands of the Archduchess. However, before the traitorous Nicholaes meets up with Lord Stoutenburg, he shoots at Diogenes with a poisoned bullet and the resultant smoke causes him to go blind.
Nicolaes and Stoutenburg return to
Amersfoort
Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the second- ...
with 4000 mercenaries and demand the surrender of the city. Stoutenburg threatens to kill everyone there unless Gilda agrees to marry him. A commotion outside the house reveals a blind Diogenes is back and is entertaining the troops.
Stoutenburg is determined to hang his nemesis Diogenes, and thinks that Gilda will prefer a strong masterful man to a weak helpless one. The sad condition of her husband only seems to make Gilda more committed to him, so changing tack, Stoutenburg promises Gilda he will only spare Diogenes' life if she will agree to be his wife. She reluctantly agrees, but once she has gone to her room, Stoutenburg tells Jan to hang him anyway.
Faced with the gallows, Diogenes barters his knowledge of the Stadtholder's plans for a mug of port. Stoutenburg then tells Gilda's father that his son-in-law is a traitor, and knowing the man's views on such behaviour, leaves him alone in the dining hall with Diogenes and a loaded gun. A gunshot is heard from outside the room, and the Statholder leaves, locking the door behind him.
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:First Sir Percy, The
1920 British novels
Scarlet Pimpernel books
Novels by Baroness Emma Orczy
Fiction set in 1624
Novels set in the Netherlands
Hodder & Stoughton books
Novels set in the 1620s