Madame du Barry: The Wages of Beauty (Tauris Parke Paperbacks)

Madame du Barry: The Wages of Beauty (Tauris Parke Paperbacks) by Haslip, Joan. paperback edition. ISBN: 9781850437536.

Born the illegitimate daughter of a monk and a seamstress, Madame du Barry rose from poverty to become one of the most powerful and wealthy women of France. A courtesan, she became Louis XVs official mistress and was fêted as one of Frances most beautiful women. On Louis XVs death she became vulnerable to those secretly longing for her downfall. Marie Antoinette had her imprisoned for a year, and in 1793 she was executed by the Revolutionary Tribunal for her aristocratic associations. Joan Haslips classic biography shares the extraordinary and ultimately tragic story of du Barrys life and, in turn, illustrates the dazzling world of the eighteenth century royal court of France and the horrors of the Revolution.