Drottningens juvelsmycke was the first original historical novel to be written in Sweden, and it features one of Swedish literature's most enduringly popular characters, the intersex Tintomara.
Tintomara is portrayed as the secret half sibling to the underage King, Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden.
In the country, she becomes the love object of two women, Amanda and Adolfine, the daughters of the Baroness; and two men, the nobles Ferdinand and Clas-Henrik, who earlier courted the sisters and who are now concealing their involvement in the assassination.
Tintomara is said to have been inspired by the daughter of Giovanna Bassi, Johanna Fredrika (1787–1810), who was presumed to be fathered by Count Adolf Fredrik Munck af Fulkila.
By persistent rumors, the count was said to be the true father of Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden; Bassi's daughter was said to have a strong resemblance to the King, who might have been her half-brother.