Beginning with the return from exile of Louis-Philippe d'Orleans in 1814, together with his sister, Madame Adelaide, Price examines the remarkable period that saw not one but two revolutions; the first, in 1830, put Louis-Philippe on the throne; the second, in 1848, saw him exiled once more, destined to spend the last years of his life in quiet seclusion in Surrey.

Drawing on previously unpublished letters and journals, Price focuses on the amazing political machinations of Madame Adelaide. Mentioned only rarely in other histories of the time, Price restores her to rightful prominence and reveals how her intelligence and behind the scenes wrangling secured her brother the throne, thereby creating France's only long-lasting experiment with a constitutional monarchy.