Susan Taylor Leduc received her PhD in art history from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990. After working for the Center for Advanced Studies in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. she moved to Paris and has worked as a professor, freelance curator and tour guide. As an independent scholar she has studied the gardens of Versailles in the 18th century and the interconnections between gardens and gastronomy. Her newest book on Marie Antoinette will be published in October.