Baroness Emma Orczy (1865 – 1947) was a Hungarian-born British novelist and playwright best known for creating the Scarlet Pimpernel, a heroic figure whose secret identity and daring deeds influenced later adventure and superhero tropes. She moved to London as a teenager, wrote numerous novels and plays, and achieved international fame when The Scarlet Pimpernel became a theatrical hit in 1905 before its publication as a novel.