Scaramouche (novel) Scaramouche (novel) Scaramouche is an historical novel by Rafael Sabatini, originally published in 1921. A romantic adventure, "Scaramouche" tells the story of a young lawyer during the French Revolution. In the course of his adventures he becomes an actor portraying "Scaramouche" (a roguish buffoon character in the "commedia dell'arte"). He also becomes a revolutionary, politician, and fencing-master, confounding his enemies with his powerful orations and swordsmanship. He is forced by circumstances to change sides several times. The book also depicts his transformation from cynic to idealist. The three-part novel opens with the memorable line: "He was born with a gift
The Man Who Knew Too Much (book) "The Five of Swords" and "The Tower of Treason". The 1934 and 1956 films have nothing except the title in common with this book. Alfred Hitchcock, who directed both films, decided to use the title because he held the film rights for some of the stories in the book. The stories were first published in Harper's Monthly Magazine between April 1920 and June 1922: Other stories that were added in the book: Horne Fisher, "The Man Who Knew Too Much", is the main protagonist of the first eight stories. In the final story, "The Vengeance of the Statue", Fisher notes: