The life and tragic death of Marie-Antoinette have assumed almost mythical proportions over the years. Her love for Count Axel Fersen – which was to have fateful consequences for both of them – is the one aspect of her life that has been repeatedly glossed over or suppressed; a deep and enduring passion that reflected the best in an admittedly flawed character. Evelyn Farr's acclaimed re-appraisal peels back layers of misinformation about this grande affaire  between the doomed Queen and the Swedish Grand Marshall, describing how both their deaths at the hands of the mob could have been avoided as well as all the fateful steps that led them there.