the impossibility of claiming any truth for herself

Jeanne de la Motte Valois, Nicole Le Guay and Marie Antoinette

The diamond necklace in question (image via Wikimedia Commons)]

A chain of forgeries, a Marie Antoinette lookalike, a midnight meeting at Versailles — Jeanne de la Motte Valois’s scheme had all the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster. The legend of her fraud — and its role in the coming French Revolution — went on to inspire novels, plays and a decidedly mid movie starring Hilary Swank as Jeanne. 

By the time she became infamous, Jeanne’s reputation already wasn’t the best. Many suspected she greatly embellished her family’s claims to nobility. Then, in 1780, Jeanne married Nicholas de la Motte, and the two made up gauche new titles for themselves, going by “Comte and Comtesse de la Motte Valois.” On top of all this, on her wedding day, Jeanne was visibly pregnant — her reputation didn’t stand a chance.