Synopses & Reviews
In 1785, a sensational trial began in Paris that would divide the country and captivate Europe. A leading Catholic cardinal and scion of one of the most distinguished families in France stood accused of forging the queenand#8217;s signature to obtain the most expensive piece of jewelry in Europe: a 2,800-carat diamond necklace. Where were the diamonds? Was the cardinal innocent? Was, for that matter, the queen? The revelations from the trial would bedevil the French monarchy as the country descended into a bloody revolution.
In How to Ruin a Queen, award-winning author Jonathan Beckman tells of political machinations and enormous extravagance; of kidnappings, prison breaks, and assassination attempts; of hapless French police in disguise, reams of lesbian pornography, and a duel fought with poisoned pigs. It is a detective story, a courtroom drama, a tragicomic farce, and a study of credulity and self-deception in the Age of Enlightenment.
Review
Praise for How to Ruin a Queen"A murky story of the Ancien Regime including diamonds and sex, brilliantly told."and#151;Antonia Fraser, author of the bestselling Marie Antoinette
"How to Ruin a Queen is a fascinating and impeccably-researched account of one of the great scandals of the 18th century. Jonathan Beckman is a master storyteller whose consummate skills are evident on every page."and#151;Amanda Foreman, author of the bestselling Georgiana
"The narrative is like an ingenious chess game, a work of scholarship and imagination.... Jonathan Beckman is the new Wilkie Collins of biographical history."and#151;Michael Holroyd, award-winning biographer and former president of the Royal Society of Literature
"With its exuberant use of language and subtly ironic storytelling, it is almost as colorful as the scandal it unfolds."and#151;Sunday Times
"Jonathan Beckman skillfully unfolds the intricacies and absurdities of this extraordinary episode...[and] provides us with an engaging and finely-researched study of an affair that, despite having the plot of a frothy operetta, was of genuine historical significance."and#151;Literary Review
"A hell of a tale and Jonathan Beckman gives it all the verve and swagger it deserves."and#151;Spectator
New York Journal of Books, 9/1/14
and#147;A book that can be read again and again, each reading providing another layer of understanding.and#8221;
PopMatters.com, 11/3/14
and#147;Itand#8217;s safe to say that never before had the story been told with such a masterful combination of historical research and insightfulness as in Beckmanand#8217;s novel, which impressively also happens to be his firstand#133;If only all history were this deliciously told.and#8221;
Columbus Dispatch, 12/29/14
and#147;Comprehensive, constantly surprising account of what must have happened, and how the scandal shaped historyand#133;Beckman has summoned a prodigious amount of facts and assembled them into an exciting, and scandalous, brew.and#8221;
Washington Times , 1/21/15
and#147;Meticulously detailed account of a scandal that became a major aspect of the French Revolutionand#133;[Beckman] writes authoritativelyand#133;There are soap opera trappings to this fantastically true story that involves kidnappings, duels, poisoned pigs, assassination attempts and the kind of vicious politicking that makes current political squabbles look like kindergarten spats.and#8221;
Synopsis
A tale of greed, lust, deceit, theft on an extraordinary scale, charlatanry, kidnapping, assassination and escape from prison.
Synopsis
Tale of greed, lust, deceit, theft, kidnapping, and assassination in the final years of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinetteand#8217;s court
About the Author
Jonathan Beckman is senior editor of
Literary Review. He has degrees from the University of Cambridge and University of London. His writing has appeared in numerous publications, including
The Observer,
Times Literary Supplement,
Daily Telegraph,
Daily Mail,
Financial Times,
Sunday Times,
Spectator,
New Statesman, and
Independent. In 2010, he won the Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Award for Non-Fiction. He lives in London.