The Trial of Madame Caillaux

A reconstruction of the trial of Henriette Caillaux, the wife of a French cabinet minister who murdered one of her husband's enemies - "Le Figaro" editor Gaston Calmette - on the eve of World War I. The study draws a portrait of Belle Epoque politics and cultural mores. "What a pleasure it is to read a book by a gifted writer whose exhaustive research results in such thought-provoking insights."—Deirdre Bair, author of Simone de Beauvoir: A Biography Edward Berenson recounts the trial of Henriette Caillaux, the wife of a powerful French cabinet minister, who murdered her husband's enemy Le Figaro editor Gaston Calmette, in March 1914, on the eve of World War I. In analyzing this momentous event, Berenson draws a fascinating portrait of Belle Epoque politics and culture.