Memoirs;: containing a compleat justification of her conduct, and an explanation of the intrigues and artifices used against her by her enemies, relative to the diamond necklace; also the correspondence between the Queen and the Cardinal de Rohan, and concluding wi

London: Printed for the author, and sold by J. Ridgway,, 1789. The notorious fraudster pleads her innocence First edition in English, signed by the author on page 261 as issued, giving the confidence trickster's own account of her role in the Diamond Necklace Affair, a monumental fraud which contributed to the outbreak of the French Revolution. The Diamond Necklace Affair was a cause célèbre across Europe in the 1780s. The incident involved the acquisition of an expensive diamond necklace in the name of Marie Antoinette in 1784. Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy (1756-1791), the self-proclaimed "Comtesse de la Motte" (though in fact she and her husband were of doubtful lineage), forged letters from the Queen purchasing the necklace, then dismantled it and sold the diamonds on the black market. The complicated web of actors involved has never been entirely unweaved, and many conflicting accounts spread through Europe. Irrespective of the precise facts, in raising the spectre of extravagant fraud at the heart of the French state, the affair significantly undermined confidence in the Ancien Regime. Jeanne was imprisoned in 1786, but after nine months she escaped and fled to England. Her escape was blamed on Marie Antoinette, stoking up even more public anger at the Queen. While in England she composed the memoirs with the assistance of the journalist Serres de Latour, with input from the disgraced French finance minister Charles Alexandre de Calonne. Jeanne stuck to her claim of innocence, blaming everything on the Queen and Cardinal Rohan. The Memoirs were published in both French and English editions by J. Ridgway in London in 1789 - they were apparently published simultaneously, as both were reviewed together in the May issue of the Analytical Review. All copies of both the French and English editions include the author's signature on the page concluding her account. The Memoirs were soon widely reprinted across Europe. The book is accompanied by a first edition of J. Daniel Chamier's The Dubious Tale of The Diamond Necklace (London: Edward Arnold & Co., 1939), bound in blue half morocco for Asprey, the two books enclosed in a handsome quarter morocco box. The book details the whole scandal for a popular audience, while also setting forth Chamier's own theory that the Queen was involved, rather than entirely innocent. Octavo. Uncut in original boards, neatly rebacked to style. In cloth chemise, and housed together with another work (see note) in blue custom quarter morocco box for Asprey. Inscription "Oundle Book Society 1789" to front cover. Slight worming to half-title. Endpapers a little worn and soiled with minor tape residue, some light foxing and finger-soiling to contents, very minor worming to half-title. A very good copy. ESTC T142432.