The untold story of the perfumer of Marie Antoinette, Jean-Louis Fargoin. In Montpellier, 1748: Jean-Louis Fargoin was born into a family of perfumers and soon became an apprentice in his father's modest perfume shop. However, he dreamed of the dazzling court of Versailles and becoming the perfumer for the young queen, Marie Antoinette.

His ambition led him to Paris, where his boutique became one of the most elegant and popular in France. Creating rich perfumes and scents for most of the French aristocracy—whose ingredients and processes are described in the book—Fargoin eventually caught the queen's attention. After meeting Marie Antoinette at the Trianon Palace, he began to craft luxurious fragrances that perfectly reflected her moods and personality.

Through his connections with the royal court, where he spent fourteen years as the queen's personal and exclusive perfumer, the reader gains privileged access to the world of Marie Antoinette. "The Fragrant Palace" offers a unique perspective on her life, including her fascination with clothes and fashion—a charm that contributed to her downfall. Fargoin's story touches on many aspects of life in eighteenth-century France, from the development of an urban family and career, to how the suffering of hungry Parisians led to revolution, as well as detailed insights into the development of the cosmetics and perfume industry and its relationship with scientific progress during the Enlightenment. The descriptions of Parisian society and commerce provide a window into daily life during this turbulent chapter of French history.