He was born near Lyon in 1754, the younger son of a minor aristocrat whose family lacked the financial resources to secure him a position suitable to his status in life.

However, by 1778, at the age of 19, he was known to be living in Paris and representing himself as the ‘Comte‘ de Villette, a title that really belonged to his elder brother.

While in Paris, Rétaux supported himself by recruiting young women to work as prostitutes for which he was paid a fee by brothel owners.

The letters were presented in turn to Cardinal Rohan and persuaded him to buy the necklace for the Queen or so he thought.

Moving to Italy, he wrote a book about the affair published in Venice in 1790 (three years before Marie Antoinette was executed).