Florent Bonaventure

Mr. Bonaventure is writing a biography of Clarence Darrow. Clarence Darrow was one of the most influential intellectuals of the American left during turn-of-the century America. As an attorney, he was a protagonist in some of the most important court cases of the era (Debs Trial, Leopold and Loeb Trial, Scope "Monkey" Trial, Ossian Sweet Trial). Mr. Bonventure's biography will have four focal points. He will link Darrow's life with a larger social transition from populist to progressive ideas. Furthermore, he plans to illuminate Darrow's engagement with radical social networks in the United States, and to capture the originality of his figure and engagements through his lifestyle, his relations and his socializing locations. Mr. Bonaventure will also explore Darrow's largely ignored transatlantic connections, tracing the interrelationship between European radical ideas and Darrow's interpretation of the American Gilded Age. Finally, Mr. Bonaventure will analyze Clarence Darrow's legacy for the modern American left.