When Gabrielle de Polastron became Marie Antoinette’s favorite courtier and best friend, she thought it was a fairy tale—but it was actually a horror story.
Peter Freuchen was a fearless Danish explorer who escaped an avalanche by making a frozen dagger out of his own excrement.
The fashion world dubbed Mona Von Bismarck “The Best Dressed Woman in the World”—but her story of scandal is not for the faint of heart.
Brooke Hayward, daughter of a Hollywood actress and a powerful talent agent, was raised in the heart of Los Angeles surrounded by stars, pop art, and the eccentric energy of showbiz life. While she lived among the rich and famous and absorbed their stories, the privileges of her world were often shadowed by personal struggles and emotional cost.
Just as her career took off, Lillian Russell got married and had her first child—only to lose the baby in the most tragic way imaginable.
Marie Thérèse, the eldest daughter of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, was never meant to be queen. However, after the Reign of Terror took the lives of her entire family, she briefly became the last hope of the Bourbon monarchy. Her short-lived role and strength in the face of immense loss remain deeply moving.
In an effort to avoid being drafted, Davy Jones starved himself for three weeks so that he would fail the physical and be considered unfit for duty.
Although Fanny Murray was once the most desired courtesan in Europe, her husband spent all his money on other women.
William Henry Vanderbilt, son of railroad magnate Cornelius “Commodore” Vanderbilt, could have lived comfortably on his inheritance. Instead, he took an active role in expanding the family empire, ultimately doubling its fortune and proving he was more than just the heir to a powerful name.
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