Sandrine Sanos's biography of Simone de Beauvoir situates Beauvoir's life and works in historical context, charting how she was enmeshed in most 20h century events and developments from WW2, to Decolonization, the Cold War, Socialist Politics, Feminism--as well as topics and ideas of contemporary relevance (war crimes, human rights, the possibilities and limits of political activism in support of social justice).

Building on recent scholarship, this biography focuses especially on the colonial, transnational, and postcolonial influences that shaped Beauvoir and emphasizes her paradoxical and complicated relationship to politics. Written in accessible and lively prose, the book is divided in 7 chapters and includes lesser-known photos of Beauvoir, as well as primary sources of both historical and contemporary interest (on the question of justice, complicity with oppressive regimes, torture, gender politics).