View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. During what years did Montesquiou share his life with Gabriel Yturri?

2. Who wrote Des Diaboliques?

3. Who wrote the play Love is the Best Medicine?

4. How old was Polignac when he traveled to London in 1885?

5. When did Paul Pozzi marry Miriam Ashcroft?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does the author compare the sexual perspectives of those from England and those from France in the late nineteenth century?

3. What does Des Esseintes tortoise symbolize?

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

5. What is the novel A Rebours about?

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

7. Who was Guy de Maupassant?

8. Who was Marcel Proust?

9. What does the Belle Époque refer to?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of sexuality in The Man in the Red Coat. What individuals in this biography are described as likely homosexual? Why? How was homosexuality perceived at this time? What laws banned homosexual acts and how frequently were they invoked?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the novel A Rebours. Why does this novel reappear frequently in The Man with the Red Coat? Who wrote the novel? What is it about?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 653 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample