The Emperor's Candlesticks

by Emmuska Orczy

Espionage and

As soon as Ivàn Volenski lost sight completely of Madame Demidoff's carriage, he, with a sigh of relief, retraced his steps up the wide stairs of the opera house, and joined a couple of dominoes, who, dressed like himself in uniform grey, stood isolated among the groups of masks that encumbered the entrance to the foyer.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Adventure, Audiobook, Mystery, Novels, British Literature

192 pages, Hardcover

Published December 1, 1976

About the author

Full name: Emma ("Emmuska") Magdolna Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála Orczy de Orczi was a Hungarian-British novelist, best remembered as the author of THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL (1905). Baroness Orczy's sequels to the novel were less successful. She was also an artist, and her works were exhibited at the Royal Academy, London. Her first venture into fiction was with crime stories. Among her most popular characters was The Old Man in the Corner, who was featured in a series of twelve British movies from 1924, starring Rolf Leslie.

Baroness Emmuska Orczy was born in Tarnaörs, Hungary, as the only daughter of Baron Felix Orczy, a noted composer and conductor, and his wife Emma. Her father was a friend of such composers as Wagner, Liszt, and Gounod. Orczy moved with her parents from Budapest to Brussels and then to London, learning to speak English at the age of fifteen. She was educated in convent schools in Brussels and Paris. In London she studied at the West London School of Art. Orczy married in 1894 Montague Barstow, whom she had met while studying at the Heatherby School of Art. Together they started to produce book and magazine illustrations and published an edition of Hungarian folktales.

Orczy's first detective stories appeared in magazines. As a writer she became famous in 1903 with the stage version of the Scarlet Pimpernel.

Reviews

[Classic reverie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first time reading Orczy and I decided on her first novel published in 1899, which when it was first released was not meet with the success, she had hoped for. I thought it was really quite creative and suspenseful to the very end. The candlesticks are the making or breaking of a young man and a charming lady, but what the importance is the reader to find out. This story is a espionage political thriller. I did not read this edition but a collection edition by Delphi with her works. Also a movie was made in 1937 with William Powell and Luise Rainer, which at some point I will have to watch but I see Ivan as a younger man, even though Powell is a talented actor, but when I see the movie I can judge better.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book written by Baroness Orczy which tells the story of Marie Antonoitte's letters to her lover which have been hidden inside one of the famous Emeperor's candlestick. Excellent aventure tale.

Free download available at ManyBooks.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up on The Scarlet Pimpernel, so it was really fun to listen to this novel. It was the first of Emmuska Orczy's novels, and I can see why it didn't do terribly well. Still a great one to listen to! The Librivox reader Kevin Green was fantastic.

[Julie Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to Kevin Green's narration on Librivox. He's really good. I also liked this story about two spies competing to retrieve hollowed out candlesticks with top secret messages inside.

[for-much-deliberation ... · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good classic adventure/spy novel, it was Orczy's first so it's unlike the Pimpernel that most may be accustomed to. Great tale none the less...

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to Librivox reading by Kevin Green. He is an excellent reader and this was the first time I was able to find a reader on Librivox that I didn't mind to keep listening to.

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Baroness Orczy's first novel uses a blueprint she followed frequently: intrigues in aristocratic society, often set in France. It's very short by modern standards, but it is still amusing. I have read many of her books, and her best remain the inspired Scarlet Pimpernel stories.

[Adam Hoss · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's no telling what you'll find when you take a deep dive in the Librivox archives. Here's a historical novel with an intriguing plot: Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (Tsar-in-waiting as the novel unfolds) is kidnapped by a ragtag gang of socialist radicals while attending a costume ball in Vienna. Said socialists intend to use their prisoner as leverage to negotiate the release of their imprisoned comrades in Siberia. But Orczy moves away from this premise pretty quickly and opts instead to focus on the plot device of two antique candlesticks with a hidden compartment for transporting secret communications over enemy lines. The captors intend to use these candlesticks to smuggle their ransom note back into Russia, and plans go awry.

But the candlesticks are far less interesting as a plot device than the kidnapped Nicholas, who vanishes into the background of the novel never to be heard from again. The political message of the novel gets muddled in places. Orczy is clearly no fan of the socialist cause, though if there is an anti-socialist message to the novel, it's a strange one. When one of the conspirators chances to see the shoddy living conditions of the working poor, he has something of an epiphany. These people can't be in charge! Look at how poor they are! Imagine that, giving power to people who live like this! Then he returns back to his world of cocktail parties and costume balls.

Orczy was born in Hungary, so she can't claim to have been privy to the goings-on of the "Silver Age" Russian writers who flourished bewtween the end of the 19th century and the Russian Civil War. Even so, she seems especially detaches from the ethos of that period of Russian literature, and in many ways her characters are symbolic of all that Russian writers were rebelling against. It's certainly an interesting time period to explore.

[Sara Kreps · Rating 4 out of 5]

a bit of a slapstick story. was pretty good right up until the end where the author seemed to run out of inspiration and cut it short. my main complaint was the lazy printers; since this book (like many of hers) has fallen into public domain, this publisher decided to print the story in 8pt font, single spaced, with no indents for paragraphs and many typos. but at least i could get the story.

[Nila · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot of this book feels like something that would be more suitable for comedy. And the end is rather anticlimactic. It could have been a thrilling story, but sadly, it is a bit meek. I will always find something to enjoy about the stories by the baroness Orczy, but I suppose all of her books can't be the Scarlet pimpernel.  

[J Grimsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right-wing ish Thriller from the early 20th Centaury. Enjoyable light read - show race prejudice and class prejudice of the time.

[Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore]

I hadn 19t heard of this book until I happened to see the William Powell/ Luise Rainer film adaptation. The book is quite different from the film version though the broad plot and some details remain the same. Baroness Orczy 19s book is an exciting tale of intrigue, espionage, and adventure with two spies/secret agents on opposite sides, in a race of sorts (each without knowing that the other is on a similar mission) to deliver secret documents concealed in the Emperor 19s candlesticks, which fall out of their possession through a series of coincidences and unexpected happenings. The book mostly traces Ivan Volenski 19s efforts to regain possession of the candlesticks so as to complete his mission and protect his and his comrades 19 identities. Ivan is fairly sharp and resourceful but his film counterpart comes across as more suave and confident, one who isn 19t fazed too easily. The film version also has a little more 18colour 19 than the book with travel to different parts of Europe, the two 18spies 19 crossing paths, and a touch of the comic, but both are good fun.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun story, but rather set up and obvious.

[Victoria Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audio book.
It was a cute story to listen to commuting.

[Phil Clymer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real gem.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprised that this was a commercial failure at the time of publication. I really liked the writing style and story - spy mystery/adventure with a happy ever after ending.

[Phil Whitney · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well crafted story with some insight into the socio political scene of 19th century Europe. Not too demanding.