S caramouche is as much a psychological study as it is an adventure novel. The dimensions of Andre-Louis Moreau and Marquis de La Tour d'Azyr rank them as two of Sabatini's finest creations. Indeed, Scaramouche should be viewed as a psychological journey of self-discovery.

The distinguishing attribute of a Sabatini hero is "the vision" that "pierces husks and shams to claim the core of reality for its own." Time and again, Sabatini used this as a benchmark of the heroic. Captain Blood is like Moreau. Cesare Borgia, a character in many of Sabatini's fictions, has profound insight into the motives of men.

Throughout, Moreau is viewed as a cynic; he himself claims as much. But in reality he cares too deeply — so deeply that he is compelled to hide his emotions, to hide the things that mean the most to him. Hence, he is always donning masks...