Percy Blakeney (a.k.a the Scarlet Pimpernel)
Percy Blakeney appears to us first as the maligned husband of Lady Blakeney -- one of the richest, most fashionable men in England, but also a reputed dunce. He is built like a truck, apparently, with big shoulders and muscles, but this only adds to his reputation as a stupid stooge. But Percy is of course secretly the Scarlet Pimpernel who raids the barricades of France to save condemned French aristocrats from the guillotine.
Marguerite St. Just / Lady Blakeney
Lady Blakeney, while living in France as an actress, was famous for her beauty, but even more for her charisma, wit, and intelligence. When she marries Percy Blakeney, no one's quite sure what she's thinking. Since he's considered a dull turkey and she a renowned socialite, the consensus is that she's married down. But she discovers her husband's secret identity and we see her husband's heroism through her eyes.
Chauvelin
Chauvelin, the novel's chief villain, is a French agent who has English diplomacy rights. He is in England looking for the Pimpernel and anyone else who is attempting to rescue French aristocrats. His 'hard-hearted, vengeful' nature contrasts with the dashing Pimpernel.
Armand St. Just
Armand St. Just, Marguerite St. Just's brother, is in cahoots with the Pimpernel. Chauvelin uses Armand to blackmail Marguerite in an attempt to get to the Pimpernel.
Sir Andrew Ffoulkes
Sir Andrew is one of the Scarlet Pimpernel's devoted followers. Marguerite goes to him when she first learns that Percy is the Pimpernel and is thus in danger of being arrested by Chevalier.
Lord Antony Dewhurst
Lord Antony does not last long in the novel, as he is one of the members of the League of the Pimpernel who is captured by Chauvelin at the pub in Dover.
Comtesse de Tournay
The Comtesse is a French aristocrat rescued by the Scarlet Pimpernel in the opening section of the novel, but her husband is left behind, prompting the dramatic rescue that dominates the novel's main plot. She does not like Marguerite St. Just because she thinks that she caused the demise of the St. Cyr family by denouncing them to the tribunal.
Comte de Tournay
The Comte de Tournay is the Comtesse's husband, rescued from France by the Scarlet Pimpernel.
Lord Grenville
Lord Grenville is an English governmental secretary who holds a grand ball after the opera, a ball which acts as the setting for Chauvelin's and Marguerite's plan to catch the Pimpernel.
Mr. Jellyband
Mr. Jellyband is the propietor of the Dover pub called The Fisherman's Rest, which the Scarlet Pimpernel and his league use for convocations.
Degas
Degas is Chauvelin's most trusted henchman who is sent to retrieve soldiers to arrest the Pimpernel. He consistently arrives too late to trap Percy.
Brogard
Brogard is the pugilistic owner of the Chat Gris inn in Calais where Chauvelin and Percy meet for their face-off.
Marquis de St. Cyr
The Marquis de St. Cyr is a French noble who was condemned because Marguerite made a statement about him to a French tribunal.