From Flippitygibbit in the UK:
There have been many versions of the Scarlet Pimpernel, and I think this is the great fortune of anybody who falls in love with the story - the many sequels to the underrated novel, the films, and thanks to your good self, a musical and a soundtrack! All fuel to the fire. I would like to ask - were you at all inspired by the 1982 adaptation of the Baroness' novel when writing the book and the lyrics for the Broadway show? This was the first version to include the love triangle between Percy, Marguerite and Chauvelin, and yet it is rarely credited as such (honorable mention usually going to the 1934 Howard/Oberon production). I confess that I am slightly biased towards Jane Seymour and Anthony Andrews, as it was their performance as the Blakeneys which first hooked me into the Baroness' stories! And although I have never seen the show live, I listen to the soundtrack constantly, and think 'I'll Forget You' is a beautiful and emotional song for my favourite heroine, Marguerite. Thank you.

Dear Flippitygibbit,

No, I didn't see the Jane Seymour movie until after I had written the book and lyrics. I don't remember it too well now, but I do remember liking the Leslie Howard version better as a movie- perhaps just because of Leslie Howard, whom I adore, but also because it feels less showy and self-conscious. I got the idea for a love triangle for Chauvelin and Percy and Marguerite when I read the book- if you look at it closely, you can see that the Baroness already lays the foundation for this. There's lots of innuendo. She always has Chauvelin looking at Marguerite with piercing black eyes, pressing her hand, whispering into her ear, breathing down her neck, all sorts of darkly sensual little things like that. To heighten that into a past affair seemed a natural to me, especially when one imagined the two working side by side in the feverish early days of the revolution- political passion evolving into carnal passion, right?

I hope you do get to see the show someday. It has more humor than the book or any of the movies- at least I think so. I do have a dream to do a West End production of S.P. in London, so keep your fingers crossed along with me. Glad you like "I'll Forget You." It does not appear on the Original Broadway Cast album, but it does appear in the 1992 S.P. concept album, sung by Linda Eder, and the S.P. "Encore" album sung by Rachel York. Thanks for writing.

Best,
Nan