With eloquence and rationality, attorney André-Louis launches into political speech-making during the early days of the French Revolution. His best friend, an activist, has been murdered by a nobleman, and André-Louis vows to take up his friend's cause and avenge his death. Hiding out as an actor in a traveling troupe, André-Louis spots the nobleman in the audience. Evoking pandemonium, he confronts the aristocrat from the stage. Animosity intensifies after the man corrupts André-Louis' would-be wife. Later, as a fencing master, André-Louis meets the noble in a deadly duel. The romantic adventures of Rafael Sabatini, born in Italy to an English mother, have been likened to those of Dumas. Published in 1921, Scaramouche became a best-seller in the U.S., where the public was fed up with modern warfare and eager to read about a daring hero of 18th century France.
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