Born in 1728, French aristocrat Charles d'Eon de Beaumont had served his country as a diplomat, soldier, and spy for fifteen years when rumors that he was a woman began to circulate in the courts of Europe. D'Eon denied nothing and was finally compelled by Louis XVI to give up male attire and live as a woman, something d'Eon did without complaint for the next three decades. Although celebrated as one of the century's most remarkable women, d'Eon was revealed, after his death in 1810, to have been unambiguously male. Gary Kates's acclaimed biography of d'Eon recreates eighteenth-century European society in brilliant detail and offers a compelling portrait of an individual who challenged its conventions about gender and identity.
- ISBN10 0465047629
- ISBN13 9780465047628
- Publish Date 4 July 1996 (first published 1 June 1995)
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Out of Print 12 August 2011
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Basic Books
- Format Paperback
- Pages 416
- Language English