The Return of Martin Guerre by Natalie Zemon Davis
Home > The Return of Martin Guerre
The Return of Martin Guerre

The Return of Martin Guerre


     4.6  |  8 Reviews 
5
4
3
2
1



International Edition


About the Book

The clever peasant Arnaud du Tilh had almost persuaded the learned judges at the Parlement of Toulouse when, on a summer's day in 1560, a man swaggered into the court on a wooden leg, denounced Arnaud, and reestablished his claim to the identity, property, and wife of Martin Guerre. The astonishing case captured the imagination of the continent. Told and retold over the centuries, the story of Martin Guerre became a legend, still remembered in the Pyrenean village where the impostor was executed more than 400 years ago.

Now a noted historian, who served as consultant for a new French film on Martin Guerre, has searched archives and lawbooks to add new dimensions to a tale already abundant in mysteries: we are led to ponder how a common man could become an impostor in the sixteenth century, why Bertrande de Rols, an honorable peasant woman, would accept such a man as her husband, and why lawyers, poets, and men of letters like Montaigne became so fascinated with the episode.

Natalie Zemon Davis reconstructs the lives of ordinary people, in a sparkling way that reveals the hidden attachments and sensibilities of nonliterate sixteenth-century villagers. Here we see men and women trying to fashion their identities within a world of traditional ideas about property and family and of changing ideas about religion. We learn what happens when common people get involved in the workings of the criminal courts in the ancien régime, and how judges struggle to decide who a man was in the days before fingerprints and photographs. We sense the secret affinity between the eloquent men of law and the honey-tongued village impostor, a rare identification across class lines.

Deftly written to please both the general public and specialists, The Return of Martin Guerre will interest those who want to know more about ordinary families and especially women of the past, and about the creation of literary legends. It is also a remarkable psychological narrative about where self-fashioning stops and lying begins.


Best Sellers



Product Details
  • ISBN-13: 9780674766914
  • Publisher: Harvard University Press
  • Publisher Imprint: Harvard University Press
  • Depth: 13
  • Height: 236 mm
  • No of Pages: 176
  • Series Title: English
  • Weight: 249 gr
  • ISBN-10: 0674766911
  • Publisher Date: 15 Oct 1984
  • Binding: Paperback
  • Edition: Reprint
  • Language: English
  • Returnable: Y
  • Spine Width: 11 mm
  • Width: 152 mm


Similar Products

Add Photo
Add Photo

Customer Reviews

     4.6  |  8 Reviews 
out of (%) reviewers recommend this product
Top Reviews
Rating Snapshot
Select a row below to filter reviews.
5
4
3
2
1
Average Customer Ratings
     4.6  |  8 Reviews 
00 of 0 Reviews
Sort by :
Active Filters

00 of 0 Reviews
SEARCH RESULTS
1–2 of 2 Reviews
    BoxerLover2 - 5 Days ago
    A Thrilling But Totally Believable Murder Mystery

    Read this in one evening. I had planned to do other things with my day, but it was impossible to put down. Every time I tried, I was drawn back to it in less than 5 minutes. I sobbed my eyes out the entire last 100 pages. Highly recommend!

    BoxerLover2 - 5 Days ago
    A Thrilling But Totally Believable Murder Mystery

    Read this in one evening. I had planned to do other things with my day, but it was impossible to put down. Every time I tried, I was drawn back to it in less than 5 minutes. I sobbed my eyes out the entire last 100 pages. Highly recommend!


Sample text
Photo of
    Media Viewer

    Sample text
    Reviews
    Reader Type:
    BoxerLover2
    00 of 0 review

    Your review was submitted!
    The Return of Martin Guerre
    Harvard University Press -
    The Return of Martin Guerre
    Writing guidlines
    We want to publish your review, so please:
    • keep your review on the product. Review's that defame author's character will be rejected.
    • Keep your review focused on the product.
    • Avoid writing about customer service. contact us instead if you have issue requiring immediate attention.
    • Refrain from mentioning competitors or the specific price you paid for the product.
    • Do not include any personally identifiable information, such as full names.

    The Return of Martin Guerre

    Required fields are marked with *

    Review Title*
    Review
      Add Photo Add up to 6 photos
      Would you recommend this product to a friend?
      Tag this Book Read more
      Does your review contain spoilers?
      What type of reader best describes you?
      I agree to the terms & conditions
      You may receive emails regarding this submission. Any emails will include the ability to opt-out of future communications.

      CUSTOMER RATINGS AND REVIEWS AND QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TERMS OF USE

      These Terms of Use govern your conduct associated with the Customer Ratings and Reviews and/or Questions and Answers service offered by Bookswagon (the "CRR Service").


      By submitting any content to Bookswagon, you guarantee that:
      • You are the sole author and owner of the intellectual property rights in the content;
      • All "moral rights" that you may have in such content have been voluntarily waived by you;
      • All content that you post is accurate;
      • You are at least 13 years old;
      • Use of the content you supply does not violate these Terms of Use and will not cause injury to any person or entity.
      You further agree that you may not submit any content:
      • That is known by you to be false, inaccurate or misleading;
      • That infringes any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy;
      • That violates any law, statute, ordinance or regulation (including, but not limited to, those governing, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising);
      • That is, or may reasonably be considered to be, defamatory, libelous, hateful, racially or religiously biased or offensive, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing to any individual, partnership or corporation;
      • For which you were compensated or granted any consideration by any unapproved third party;
      • That includes any information that references other websites, addresses, email addresses, contact information or phone numbers;
      • That contains any computer viruses, worms or other potentially damaging computer programs or files.
      You agree to indemnify and hold Bookswagon (and its officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, joint ventures, employees and third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.), harmless from all claims, demands, and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of a breach of your representations and warranties set forth above, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party.


      For any content that you submit, you grant Bookswagon a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, transferable right and license to use, copy, modify, delete in its entirety, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from and/or sell, transfer, and/or distribute such content and/or incorporate such content into any form, medium or technology throughout the world without compensation to you. Additionally,  Bookswagon may transfer or share any personal information that you submit with its third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc. in accordance with  Privacy Policy


      All content that you submit may be used at Bookswagon's sole discretion. Bookswagon reserves the right to change, condense, withhold publication, remove or delete any content on Bookswagon's website that Bookswagon deems, in its sole discretion, to violate the content guidelines or any other provision of these Terms of Use.  Bookswagon does not guarantee that you will have any recourse through Bookswagon to edit or delete any content you have submitted. Ratings and written comments are generally posted within two to four business days. However, Bookswagon reserves the right to remove or to refuse to post any submission to the extent authorized by law. You acknowledge that you, not Bookswagon, are responsible for the contents of your submission. None of the content that you submit shall be subject to any obligation of confidence on the part of Bookswagon, its agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners or third party service providers (including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.)and their respective directors, officers and employees.

      Accept

      New Arrivals



      Inspired by your browsing history


      Your review has been submitted!

      You've already reviewed this product!