The Trial of Madame Caillaux

The trial of Madame Caillaux and her murder of journalist Henry Calmette symbolized French culture to its core. Edward Berenson combines the trial with French society's attitudes by incorporating courtroom behavior to express Belle Epoque's values and drama to capture the reader's feelings. Although the book is supposed to be about the trial surrounding the murder of Henry Calmette, Berenson primarily uses the courtroom antics of the characters as examples French culture. With each chapter …

…rendered. Fortunately for Henriette Caillaux, she was acquitted of all charges against her. However, she and Joseph Caillaux's lives would never be the same again. The Caillaux Affair "marked the end of an era whose efforts to forsake the culture and values of the nineteenth century only revealed how persistent those mores could be". Berenson illustrates this unusual event in French history with much detail and historical facts while giving the reader an entertaining narrative.