The strange career of the Chevalier d'Eon de Beaumont : $b Minister plenipotentiary from France to Great Britain in 1763

The Chevalier d’Eon emerges from the shadows of eighteenth‑century Europe as a brilliant yet bewildering operative, straddling the worlds of court intrigue, diplomatic negotiation and covert intelligence. Trained in the art of secrecy from a young age, he became one of Louis XV’s most trusted agents, slipping between Versailles and London to shape alliances while navigating the perilous expectations of a monarch who preferred hidden counsel to open counsel. His early assignments place him at the heart of the king’s clandestine correspondence, where he balances daring bravado with the delicate art of persuasion.

Drawing on rare archival material and the author’s own investigative journeys, the narrative reconstructs the Chevalier’s first major diplomatic forays, revealing the wit, courage and personal ambiguity that made him a legend among contemporaries. Listeners will be drawn into a richly detailed portrait of a figure whose talent for intrigue defied the conventions of his time, offering a vivid glimpse into the secret engine that powered French foreign policy long before the age of modern espionage.