20 October 2014

How to Ruin a Queen by Jonathan Beckman!



Book Details

  • Hardcover: 408 pages
  • Publisher: Da Capo Press (September 2, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0306823551
  • ISBN-13: 978-0306823558

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 queen’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.


About the Author

Jonathan Beckman is senior editor of Literary Review. He has degrees in English from the University of Cambridge and Intellectual and Cultural History from Queen Mary, University of London. In 2010, he won the Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Award for Non-Fiction.

https://twitter.com/thediamondgeeza

Praise for HOW TO RUIN A QUEEN

“Stranger than fiction but just as gripping, How to Ruin a Queen is a masterly exploration of the 'diamond necklace' affair”—Hilary Mantel, The Guardian Best Holiday Reads 2014

“This rock-solid piece of scholarship, glistening with wit and insight, moves the story from the footnotes of the French Revolution… and places it centre stage”—The Telegraph

“The account is fast-paced, colourful and rich with insights…he succeeds in knitting this improbable imbroglio into the twilight of the French monarchy”—The Economist

“Jonathan Beckman skillfully unfolds the intricacies and absurdities of this extraordinary episode…Beckman 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”—Literary Review

“Beckman tells this scarcely believable story with flair and an astonishing quantity of detail”—The Times

How to Ruin a Queen is narrative history at its best. Every page is studded with detail that brings a scene to life.”—The Observer

“It’s a hell of a tale and Jonathan Beckman gives it all the verve and swagger it deserves…I read it with fascination, delight and frequent snorts of incredulity – and I strongly suspect you will too”—The Spectator

“In this fascinating book, Jonathan Beckman examines the affair in detail, creating a gripping detective story and a witty revelation of a scandal that shocked Paris and galvanized Versailles”—BBC History

“A book that can be read again and again, each reading providing another layer of understanding.” –New York Journal of Books

Visit: http://www.howtoruinaqueenbook.com/

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