Queen Marie Antoinette's diamond necklace was the most expensive jewel of its time, considered too expensive even by the Queen herself, who was not particularly famous for her frugality. A pretty fraudster, Mme de La Motte convinced Prince Rohan, who was in love with Marie Antoinette, to buy the jewel for the Queen. Eventually, there was no one to pay for the jewel, and a huge scandal and a court case ensued, dealing a fatal blow to the monarchy. Szerb paints an excellent portrait of the society of Louis XVI, its literary, intellectual and emotional life and best-known figures. After Journey by Moonlight, The Pendragon Legend and Oliver VII, Pushkin Press has published a fourth novel by Antal Szerb in English, also in Len Rix's superb translation. A review by Nicholas Lezard in the Guardian Previously on HLO | 
