cover image The Trial of Madame Caillaux

The Trial of Madame Caillaux

Edward Berenson. University of California Press, $45 (296pp) ISBN 978-0-520-07347-0

Berenson, professor of history at UCLA, writes a gender micro-history of the Belle Epoque in France (1890-1914) by examining the trial and acquittal of Madame Henriette Caillaux. On March 14, 1914 she fatally shot Gaston Calmette, editor of Le Figaro , motivated by the press campaign he was conducting against her husband, Joseph Caillaux, an influential left-wing cabinet minister. Utilizing courtroom transcripts and press coverage of the proceedings which riveted the attention of the nation, the author presents a carefully researched analysis that yields insights into the years when early feminism was beginning to affect social mores. Through the behavior and statements of the trial's participants, a societal portrait of the complex power relationship between men and women of the period emerges in this fine academic history. Illustrated. (Feb.)