The Man in the Red Coat by Julian Barnes

New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2020

At the core of Barnes', The Man in the Red Coat is Dr. Samuel Pozzi, the subject of John Singer Sargent's famous portrait. This isn't, however, the typical biography of an individual. It's a biography of a place, a time, and a society.

The jumping off point is a 1885 trip to London by three Frenchmen for what they termed 'intellectual shopping' (something a dandy would do). One of the members of this trio was Dr. Pozzi. The others were Prince Edmond de Polignac and Count Robert de Montesquiou-Fezensac. So then the question becomes how did this commoner with the Italian name come to make this trip with a prince and a count.

The society during la Belle Epoque in Paris, serves as the foundation of the story Barnes has to tell. The relationships, petty jealousies, duels, and court cases are all included. A cast of characters include many lesser-known individuals, but some major names play a role in the world that the doctor, the prince and count inhabit.

Major literary figures such as Oscar Wilde and Joris-Karl Huysmans (author of A Rebours) appear, along with a fascinating discussion of aestheticism and dandyism. Wilde's trials are discussed in the context of the French vs British court systems. French cases like the Black Masses Scandal involving Baron Fersen (Jacques d'Adelsward-Fersen) who was charged with inciting minors to commit debauchery is briefly noted. A polarizing political issue during this time was the Dreyfus Affair, a blatant example of the anti-Semitism of the time. It's definitely a Who's Who of artists (Sargent, obviously), actresses (Sarah Bernhardt), authors, and society figures of the time period.

In the context of all of this literary and political intrigue was extraordinary progress in medicine and Dr. Pozzi was a the center of it. His experience with doctors such as British surgeon, Joseph Lister, aided Pozzi in improving surgical services in France and particularly in the area of gynecology, his specialty. This is a fascinating time of rapid growth in understanding germ theory and the ways to prevent infection.

All of this makes for a fascinating social history of la Belle Epoque Paris that is as exciting as any work of fiction.

Pagan Light : Dreams of Freedom and Beauty in Capri by Jamie James

New York : Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2019

Beginning with the Roman Emperor, Tiberius, Capri has a long history of accepting the eccentric and exiled from the less permissive parts of Europe. After establishing Capri's history in the Roman era, the author focuses primarily on the period from the Wilde trials through the mid 1930s during which time many sought artistic and sexual freedom there. The rise of the fascists, the focus of the final quarter of the book, brought significant change, not only to Capri, but to the world in general.

Pagan Light is a reference to maybe the most well known novel set in Capri, Norman Douglas' South Wind. Part travelogue, part literary and art history, James' book is difficult to define. It offers a series of vignettes of varying length connecting a veritable who's who of famous (and not-so-famous) literary and artistic expats. The minor players are offered as mere asides and provide a more complete sense of Capri's expat society. Pagan Light is anchored with biographical accounts of the little known novelist and poet, Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen and the artist Romain Brooks.

Adelswärd-Fersen flees Paris after his proclivities run afoul of the law. Interestingly it wasn't his sexual interest in teenage boys that was the problem, it was his use of them in his theatrical 'messes noires' (a supposed satanic ritual) to which he invited his friends. The details of this scandal would later be memorialized in his 1905 novel Messes Noires : Lord Lillian. An English translation of the novel, issued by Elysium Press, was published in 2005.

On Capri, Brooks was able to become an independent woman and present herself the way she was most comfortable. She cut her hair short and styled herself in trousers and jackets instead of dresses. She interacted within the society of lesbians of the time including Radclyffe Hall (author of the classic lesbian novel, The Well of Loneliness), Lady Una Troubridge (Hall's longtime lesbian partner), and American poet, Natalie Barney (Brooks' great love). Brooks is known for her portraits of important women in this lesbian circle as well as an early portrait of Jean Cocteau.

Adelswärd-Fersen and Brooks make for interesting subjects in that what we know of their lives is largely based on less than reliable depictions of them in their own and others writing. Adelswärd-Fersen's story is mostly known through The Exile of Capri, a roman à clef by Roger Peyrefitte, while Brooks' story largely comes from her own unpublished memoir as well as Compton Mackenzie's novel Extraordinary Women.

Ricardo Esposito, who runs the Capriot small press Edizioni La Conchiglia, sums up the importance of Capri nicely when he says, "Capri was an international laboratory for the avant-garde, a place where ideas were born, a new artistic vision, and given to the world." (p.288)