pbA wild story of female friendship, language, and power, from France to colonial America to the moon, from 1775 to this very moment a historical novel like no other.b pIt's the eighteenth century, and Celine is in trouble. Her husband is mostly absent. Her parents are elsewhere. And somewhere men are inventing stories about her--about her affairs, her sexuality, her orgies and addictions and assignations. All these stories are lies, but the public loves them--spreading them like a plague. And Celine watches as her name becomes a celebrity symbol for everything rotten in the world. pThis is a universe of saturation and corruption, of lavish parties and private salons, of tulle and satin and sex, but also of revolution and resistance. It's a world ruled by men, all of whom are high on genocide, colonial expansion, forest redevelopment, political theory, violence against women and, above all, language. pAs France moves through its revolutions and the earth whirls around the sun, Celine a