1862-1884. Ancestry and early upbringing ; First music lessons ; Mme Maute and the Paris Conservatoire ; Student days and friendship with the Vasnier family ; Awarded the Rome Prize for his cantata L'Enfant Prodigue --

1880-1882. Mme von Meck and first visits to Russia ; Reflections on Mussorgsky and alleged Russian 'influences' --

1885-1887. Rome and the Villa Medicis ; The first 'Envois' ; Printemps ; La Damoiselle Elue ; Homesickness for Paris --

1887-1892. Paris again ; A new milieu ; Mallarme and the symbolists ; Hears Parsifal, Tristan and the Mastersingers at Bayreuth ; The Paris exhibition of '89 ; Exotic influences ; Meets Erik Satie ; Sees Maeterlinck's Pelleas et Melisande in the theatre ; Compositions. Arabesques ; Ariettes Oubliees ; Piano Fantasia ; Suite Bergamasque ; Five Poems of Baudelaire ; Fetes Galantes ; Prelude a l'Apres-midi d'un Faune --

1893-1901. The string quartet ; Friendship with Pierre Louys ; Debussy reads Maeterlinck's play Pelleas et Melisande and obtains author's permission to write opera ; First performance of L'Apres-midi d'un Faune ; Begins work on the Nocturnes for orchestra ; Pelleas completed ; Marriage with Rosalie Texier ; Debussy as music critic --

1902-1905. Pelleas et Melisande produced at the opera-comique ; Quarrel with Maeterlinck ; Sensational first performances ; Gradual recognition ; Other projected stageworks and offer from New York Metropolitan Opera ; Publication of piano Estampes ; Relations with Ravel ; Debussy deserts his wife and marries Mme Bardac ; Fetes Galantes --

1905-1910. La Mer and the controversy it aroused ; The 'Debussyites' are puzzled ; The piano Images and Debussy's pianistic technique ; His art not Impressionist but symbolist ; Children's Corner ; The Promenoir des Amants and Villoin ballad settings ; Conducts in London, Vienna, Budapest ; Production of Images for orchestra rouses fresh controversy ; The twenty-four piano Preludes --

1911-1914. An impression of Debussy in his fiftieth year ; Composes to order a Rhapsody for saxophone, and the ballet Khamma ; Collaboration with d'Annunzio ; Production of Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien which is denounced by the church ; Visits Turin, and meets Richard Strauss and Elgar ; Nijinsky dances L'Apres-midi d'un Faune ; Debussy writes new ballet for Diaghilev ; Jeux ; La Boite a Joujoux ; Relations with Stravinsky ; Conducts own music in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Rome, the Hague and Amsterdam --

1914-1918. The war and its effect upon Debussy ; General deterioration in health ; A new orientation in his music ; Writes Etudes and the three last sonatas ; Projects Ode a la France ; Last appearances in public ; Dies while Paris is bombarded by German planes and guns --

Epilogue. Debussy the man and the musician.