num_pages: 400
description: Here is the unforgettable story of a celebrated eighteenth-century French diplomat and spy, caught in a web of international intrigue, aristocratic ambition, and royal conspiracy, who in mid-career suddenly announced that he was a she—a lie not uncovered until his death some thirty-five years later, in 1810.The Chevalier d'Eon had played a very public role as a diplomat to the court of Empress Elizabeth of Russia and later to that of George III in Great Britain. He was a renowned and decorated military hero. Few knew that he had also worked for “The Secret,” a spying operation run by the French monarchy. In 1776, Louis XVI declared that d'Eon was actually a woman. The public believed him, for the story was too bizarre to be invented. After all, why would a man—especially a man of great power and prestige—abandon his gender in favor of womanhood? The opposite would not have been so extraordinary, for often enough women had passed as men to escape the constraints imposed on their sex.Kates not only explains why d'Eon made his fateful choice, but also probes the credulity of the eighteenth-century European public, exploring in riveting detail how the aristocratic world viewed manhood and womanhood. In a series of short chapters, written with novelistic verve and suspense, Kates brings to life d'Eon's dealings with the kings of France and his encounters with Marie-Antoinette, Benjamin Franklin, Voltaire, and Rousseau.
language: English
title: Monsieur d'Eon Is A Woman: A Tale Of Political Intrigue And Sexual Masquerade
titlecomplete: Monsieur d'Eon Is A Woman: A Tale Of Political Intrigue And Sexual Masquerade
characters: Chevalier D'Eon
genres: 18th Century, Nonfiction, History, Gender, LGBT, British Literature, Biography, France
ratings_count: 93
publisher: Basic Books