author
Charles Geneviève Louis Auguste André Timothée d' Eon de Beaumont
1728–1810
A diplomat, soldier, writer, and secret agent, this remarkable eighteenth-century figure moved through the courts and battlefields of Europe before becoming one of history’s most talked-about gender-nonconforming lives. Their story blends espionage, politics, public scandal, and personal reinvention in a way that still feels astonishing today.
1 Audiobook
The Musgrave controversy : being a collection of curious and interesting papers, on the subject of the late peace
by Charles Geneviève Louis Auguste André Timothée d' Eon de Beaumont, Samuel Musgrave
About the author
Born in Tonnerre, France, in 1728, the Chevalier d’Éon served the French crown as a diplomat, soldier, and spy. Educated in law and known for sharp intelligence as well as skill with a sword, d’Éon worked in the shadowy world of Louis XV’s secret diplomacy and later fought in the Seven Years’ War.
D’Éon became especially famous in London, where rumors about their sex turned into a public obsession and even a subject of betting. After negotiations with the French government, d’Éon returned to France and was ordered to live publicly in women’s dress, later becoming widely known as the Chevalière d’Éon.
Today, d’Éon is remembered both as a colorful political adventurer and as a deeply compelling figure in queer and trans history. They spent their final years in England and died in London in 1810, leaving behind a life that continues to inspire historians, biographers, and readers interested in identity, performance, and power.