Will Bashor Books

The narrative centers around Leonard Autie, the hairdresser and close confidante of Queen Marie Antoinette, who played a crucial role in shaping her iconic and extravagant hairstyles. His artistry not only elevated the queen's status but also contributed to the public's fascination and eventual disdain, culminating in the political turmoil that led to her downfall. Through Autie's perspective, the story explores themes of beauty, power, and the intricate relationship between personal style and historical consequence.

The Devil Wears Prada comes to Versailles in the story of the rise and fall of Leonard Autie, Marie Antoinette's loyal hairdresser, the man responsible for the style that made her the envy of France and for the uproar that dragged her to the guillotine.

This compelling book begins on the 2nd of August 1793, the day Marie Antoinette was torn from her family's arms and escorted from the Temple to the Conciergerie, a thick-walled fortress turned prison. It was also known as the "waiting room for the guillotine" because prisoners only spent a day or two here before their conviction and subsequent execution. The ex-queen surely knew her days were numbered, but she could never have known that two and a half months would pass before she would finally stand trial and be convicted of the most ungodly charges. Will Bashor traces the final days of the prisoner registered only as Widow Capet, No. 280, a time that was a cruel mixture of grandeur, humiliation, and terror. Marie Antoinette's reign amidst the splendors of the court of Versailles is a familiar story, but her final imprisonment in a fetid, dank dungeon is a little-known coda to a once-charmed life. Her seventy-six days in this terrifying prison can only be described as the darkest and most horrific of the fallen queen's life, vividly recaptured in this richly researched history.

This riveting book explores the little-known intimate life of Marie Antoinette and her family in a world filled with intrigue, infidelity, and adultery. Will Bashor unveils the hedonistic atmosphere at Versailles as we learn the secret language of the queen’s fan and explore the hidden passageways and staircases of endless intrigue at the palace.

Set against the backdrop of seventeenth-century France, this historical novel follows the life of Louis de Bourbon, the illegitimate son of King Louis XIV. Abandoned by his mother, he faces the challenges of his status and the humiliation of being part of a secret gay society. As he seeks redemption, Louis turns to the battlefield, where he aims to prove his worth through acts of heroism and self-sacrifice. The narrative explores themes of identity, honor, and the complexities of royal lineage during a tumultuous period.