Scaramouche: A Romance of the French Revolution

Scaramouche is a historical novel by Rafael Sabatini originally published in 1921.It was subsequently adapted into a play by Barbara Field and into feature films first in 1923 starring Ramón Novarro Scaramouche (1923) and a remake in 1952 with Stewart Granger. 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 (also called Scaramuccia a roguish buffoon character in the commedia dellarte). 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. (wikipedia.org)