author
Charles Geneviève Louis Auguste André Timothée d' Eon de Beaumont
1728–1810
A diplomat, soldier, spy, and writer, this extraordinary eighteenth-century figure lived one of the most debated and dramatic lives in French history. Best known as the Chevalier d’Éon, she moved through royal courts, secret missions, and public fascination with a life that still feels startlingly modern.
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, Burgundy, in 1728, the Chevalier d’Éon became known for an unusual career that crossed politics, war, and literature. D’Éon studied at the Collège Mazarin, trained in law, and gained attention early as a sharp writer before entering the service of King Louis XV.
D’Éon went on to serve as a diplomat and soldier, and was also involved in the king’s secret intelligence network. She spent important years in London, where her identity became the subject of intense public speculation and betting. In 1777, under orders from the French crown, d’Éon adopted women’s dress officially and continued to live that way for the rest of her life.
Later generations have remembered d’Éon for both political daring and personal courage. She wrote memoirs, fenced in public exhibitions, and became a figure of lasting interest in the history of gender as well as in French and British public life. She died in London in 1810, but her story has never really faded.