The Laughing Cavalier (novel) of Sir Percy Blakeney, known to history as the Scarlet Pimpernel." EMMUSKA ORCZY <br>Haarlem, 1913 The Laughing Cavalier (novel) The Laughing Cavalier is a 1913 adventure novel by Baroness Orczy, which revolves around Percy Blake, a foreign adventurer and ancestor of Orczy's famous character, the Scarlet Pimpernel. The story takes place in Holland in 1623/1624 and is partly inspired by Frans Hals' painting "The Laughing Cavalier": in the novel, Blake is Frans Hals' adopted son and the man who poses for the painting of the Laughing Cavalier. The sequel to this book, continuing the story of Percy Blake, is "The
Sir Percy the way and stayed on strongly in the closing stages to finish second, beaten two and a half lengths by George Washington. Sir Percy sustained a pulled muscle in training after the Guineas and his participation in the Derby was in some doubt, with Tregoning considering the less demanding Prix du Jockey Club as an alternative target. On 3 June he started 6/1 third favourite for the 2006 Epsom Derby. The French-trained colt Visindar was the 2/1 favourite, with Horatio Nelson the 11/2 second choice. Sir Percy was held up by Martin Dwyer in the early stages and was only