In October 1775 two hoaxes, perpetrated for separate reasons by John Wilkes and his friend, the Chevalier d’Eon, briefly collided. Wilkes’s hoax, the ‘Sayre plot’, was probably intended to provoke a test of the constitutionality of the recent ‘King’s Proclamation’, which encroached upon the statutory definition of treason. The hoax involved creating the impression that a conspiracy existed to resolve the deepening American crisis by overthrowing George III. D’Eon’s hoax involved spreading the rumour that he himself was a woman in order to embarrass the French king into recalling him from exile on d’Eon’s terms, including a generous financial package. For Wilkes, although neither George III’s overthrow nor the modification of his colonial policy were likely expectations, either result would have been a bonus. And although d’Eon was unquestionably a man, he did actually (if inexplicably) desire to be perceived as a woman living the life of an heroic man. When d’Eon’s hoax suddenly progressed too far – trapping him into agreeing to dress as a woman, which, at first, he seemed unwilling to do – he delayed signing the deal for a month, until he saw that the ‘Sayre plot’ (whose success could have strengthened d’Eon’s negotiating position) had utterly failed.