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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When was Dr. Adrien Proust brushed by a stray bullet while walking to work?

2. How old was Montesquiou when he traveled to London in 1885?

3. What did the count, the prince, and the doctor hear at Crystal Palace at the Handel Festival?

4. Whose portrait of Montesquiou appeared on the 1967 cover of Against Nature?

5. When did Dr. Pozzi receive his doctorate on fistulas of the upper rectum?

Short Essay Questions

1. What painting inspired the author to write this book? Why?

2. When did the three Frenchmen arrive in London, according to the author's narrative in the opening of the book? Why were they there?

3. Who was Marcel Proust?

4. Who was Edmond de Goncourt?

5. Who was Sarah Bernhardt and what role does she play in the narrative?

6. What caused the initial problems between Dr. Pozzi and his wife?

7. What is known about Montesquiou's sexual exploits, according to the author?

8. What is a duel? What is its history?

9. Who was Jean Lorrain?

10. What does Listerism refer to?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why does the author assert that the intimate lives of historical figures are ultimately unknowable? Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the medical advances that took place during the Belle Époque. What countries led the world in medical advances? What advances were made? How was Dr. Pozzi a part of those advancements?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the Belle Époque. When and where did this era occur? What does the name mean? What are the principles of the period? How would you define the culture of this era?

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