in The Scarlet Pimpernel, 1905]], the Scarlet Pimpernel flower]]The Scarlet Pimpernel is a classic play and adventure novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, set during the Reign of Terror following the French Revolution. It was first produced as a record-breaking play in an adaptation by Julia Neilson and Fred Terry. The play first opened on 15 October 1903 at Nottingham?s Theatre Royal; it was not a success. But Terry had confidence in the play and, with a re-written last act, he took it to London where it opened at the New Theatre on 5 January 1905. The standing ovation of the first night audience was "hot and strong", but not so the reaction of the critics the next morning. The jaded London critics, trying to champion new, "modern" plays, pooh-poohed the "old-fashioned" Scarlet Pimpernel, but the play became a popular success. It began a run of 122 performances and numerous revivals, becoming a favouri