Top ten heroes in disguise

Laura Powell spent most of her childhood with her nose in a book, studied classics at University and then worked at a publishing company. Her books for young adults include the highly acclaimed Burn Mark and its sequel Witch Fire, forthcoming in the US early this summer.

"Heroes have a tendency to hide from the world," Powell writes in the Guardian. "They often have to conceal a secret power or identity; sometimes it's their true nature that's disguised, sometimes just their appearance."

One of Powell's ten favorite heroes in hiding:

Sir Percy Blakeney in The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

Sir Percy is the Bruce Wayne of the French Revolution: a rich playboy with a double life spent rescuing people from the guillotine. He's a master of disguise, a dashing swordsman, schemer and escape artist. But to the world at large, he's just another posh nincompoop. Swashbuckle-tastic!

Read about the other entries on the list.

The Scarlet Pimpernel is among Justin Scroggie's top ten books with secret signs and Peter Millar's six top spy books.

--Marshal Zeringue