Chevalier de Saint-Georges

Born in 1745 in the French Caribbean, De Saint-Georges was the illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner. He rose to improbable heights in French society, dazzling as both a violinist and composer, and a champion fencer. An ill-fated love affair with a French noblewoman, and a falling out with Marie Antoinette and her court led to his untimely downfall.