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
Rafael Sabatini novel came out in 1902. In 1905, he married Ruth Goad Dixon, the daughter of a Liverpool merchant. It took Sabatini roughly a quarter of a century of hard work before he attained success with "Scaramouche" in 1921. The novel, an historical romance set during the French Revolution, became an international bestseller. It was followed by the equally successful "Captain Blood" (1922). All of his earlier books were rushed into reprints, the most popular of which was "The Sea Hawk" (1915). Sabatini was a prolific writer; he produced a new book approximately every year and maintained a great deal of