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Summary: The Little Chevalier (Press, 13 August 1966)
Edna Nixon's book "Royal Spy," a biography of the 18th century figure Chevalier Charles D’Eon de Beaumont, presents a sympathetic portrayal of its subject, contrasting sharply with Cynthia Cox's earlier work, "The Enigma of the Age," which depicted D’Eon as an annoying exhibitionist. Nixon takes a more nuanced view, particularly in discussing D’Eon's later years, characterising him as a tragic figure who fell victim to both circumstance and his own choices. D’Eon was born in 1738 in Burgundy to a lower noble family and displayed a penchant for wearing women's clothing from a young age. Despite his unusual habits, he was a skilled swordsman and known for his bravery. With the support of his patron, the Due de Conti, D’Eon impressively served the French King Louis XIV by undertaking diplomatic missions to Russia, dressed both as a woman and as her brother, aimed at securing Catherine the Great’s friendship for France. His contributions earned him military accolades and a position in a clandestine spy organisation known as "the Secret." However, D’Eon’s career took a pivotal turn when he was appointed as the French Minister Plenipotentiary in London, tasked with evaluating the feasibility of a French invasion of Britain. His popularity in London did not shield him from financial mismanagement, and conflict arose with the newly appointed French ambassador, the Comte de Guerchy. Their animosity led to a scandal that saw Guerchy employing underhanded tactics to undermine D’Eon, including efforts to have him discredited or even harmed. D’Eon’s increasingly defiant correspondence with his superiors and his financial woes escalated the tension, leading to a fallout that turned friends into adversaries. His predicament worsened when the English media began betting on his sex, prompting the French government to compel him into an undignified return to France. They offered him a pension and a pardon if he would live permanently as a woman—a condition he begrudgingly accepted, becoming known as Chevaliere D’Eon for two decades. After the French Revolution, D’Eon was allowed to return to London, where he spent his remaining years in poverty, reliant on the goodwill of friends and facing the loss of most of his possessions to pawnshops. Throughout her narrative, Nixon presents a balanced view of D’Eon, highlighting his pathos and the compulsive nature of his transvestism, even as he struggled with the forced femininity that defined his later years. Both Nixon and Cox conducted extensive research for their works, and the stark differences in their portrayals reflect the conflicting accounts of D’Eon's complex life and legacy. The book invites readers to reconsider the life of a figure whose gender identity and political life were intertwined in an era of rigid societal norms.
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