Dreyfus, Proust and the Crimes of the Belle Epoque

March 13 (Bloomberg) -- This year represents a watershed inthe history of France’s Belle Epoque -- the period ofunprecedented economic growth and extraordinary cultural fomentthat nation enjoyed between the centennial of the FrenchRevolution in 1889 (an occasion commemorated by, among otherthings, the inauguration of the Eiffel Tower) and the outbreakof World War I in 1914 -- for two seemingly unrelated reasons.

First, it marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of“Swann’s Way,” the first installment of “In Search of LostTime” (1913-1927), Marcel Proust’s vast novel chronicling thelives of privileged Parisians at the fin de siecle.