BIOGRAPHY: HISTORICAL, POLITICAL & MILITARY. Yolande Duvernay, the star of this tale, was born in poverty in Paris in 1812. Under the control of her stage mother, she became a celebrated ballerina - a star of the Paris Opera - becoming the favourite dancer of Princess Victoria. She was praised for her grace, her beauty and her provocative style on stage, known as the 'fair brimstone' by William Makepeace Thackeray. There was a darker side to her success, however, as she became the mistress of powerful men, eventually being sold by her mother to Stephens Lyne Stephens, son and heir of the richest commoner in England, for almost a million pounds in today's values. A few years later, Yolande caused a huge scandal when she manipulated Stephens into marriage. When Stephens died in 1860, he left his widow a life interest in the entire Lyne Stephens fortune - one of the largest fortunes in England.