The First Sir Percy The First Sir Percy The First Sir Percy is a 1920 adventure novel by Baroness Orczy featuring Sir Percy Blake, ancestor of Orczy's character The Scarlet Pimpernel. It is a direct sequel to "The Laughing Cavalier", occurring a few months after the events in the first book. It is March 1624 in Holland. Two months earlier, a mercenary/adventurer who calls himself "Diogenes" foiled the plot on the life of the Stadtholder. 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.
William Blakeney, 1st Baron Blakeney William Blakeney, 1st Baron Blakeney Lieutenant-General William Blakeney, 1st Baron Blakeney KB (1671/167210 September 1761) was an Irish soldier known for his unsuccessful defence of the Spanish island of Menorca following the Battle of Menorca in 1756. Blakeney was born at Mount Blakeney, County Limerick, to William Blakeley, a member of the Irish House of Commons for Kilmallock, and Elizabeth (née Bowerman). Destined for politics, he showed a decided preference for a military career. At age 18, he headed the tenants in defending the Blakeney estate against the Rapparees. As a volunteer he fought the war in Flanders, and at