ABSTRACT
The gulf between Baroness Orczy's private and public persona in wartime can be demonstrated by a comparison of the published version of her autobiography, Links in the Chain of Life, with the manuscript, held at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center in Austin, Texas. Nostalgic escapism marked the success of Donald Wolfit's wartime staging of The Scarlet Pimpernel. Wolfit made his name with Lunch Time Shakespeare' in London during the Blitz. The iconic status of the Scarlet Pimpernel is illustrated by the debate over who should play Sir Percy in Korda's film. Korda's original suggestion had been the hefty Charles Laughton, who starred in The Private Life of Henry. The association between the Scarlet Pimpernel and Englishness and, by extension, patriotism would seem to be confirmed by the story's prominence across the British media in the early days of World War II. The play given new life by the Shakespearean actor Donald Wolfit drew crowds at regional theatres in 1941.
