The decorated veteran, diplomat, and spy, the Chevalière d'Éon, loyally served the French crown for decades. But then she decided to blackmail the king. With nowhere to turn, the French monarch enlisted Pierre Beaumarchais to talk the rogue chevalière out of it. Above: The Chevalière d'Éon fencing with Monsier de Saint-George. TRANSCRIPT It was just another day at Jonathan’s coffee house in London—that is, until one guest challenged everyone else to a duel. The café was hous

Pierre Beaumarchais was a man of many talents. He made watches, played the harp, wrote blockbuster plays, and also got involved in international arms dealing . . . . you know, as one does. Well, Louis XV also sent him on a secret mission to London to suppress the publication of a libelous pamphlet. Above: Scene from Marriage of Figaro, Beaumarchais's most celebrated comedy.

Historian Julie Wheelwright tells us about one of history's most notorious spies, Mata Hari. Mata Hari worked as a double agent during World War I, spying for both the French and the Germans.