The Emperor's Candlesticks

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Categories: 1899 novels | Novels by Baroness Orczy | Debut novels | Historical novels | 19th century novel stubs

The Emperor's Candlesticks
Image:Emperorscandlesticks1899.jpg 1899 1st edition
Author	Baroness Orczy
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre(s)	Adventure, Historical novel
Publisher	Pearson
Publication date	1899
Media type	Print (Hardback)
ISBN	NA

The Emperor's Candlesticks is a historical novel by Baroness Orczy. Written soon after the birth of her son John, it is her first book as an author rather than translator and was a commercial failure. As in the Scarlet Pimpernel, the theme is international intrigue, but this time the setting is pre-World War One Europe and Russia rather than Revolutionary France.

Plot introduction

When a group of Russian anarchists kidnap a Russian prince in Vienna there are repercussions. On learning that the Cardinal d'Orsay has agreed to convey some hollow candlesticks from the Emperor to the Princess Marionoff in St Petersburg, two spies both see the possibility of using them to convey messages safely into Russia.

One is an eager young idealist involved in the plot against the prince, the other is Madame Demidoff, a beautiful agent of the Tsar.

When the candlesticks go missing at the border, the two engage in a race to get them back, both realizing that their very lives could depend on the retrieval.