The Return of Martin Guerre

A landmark work of historical reconstruction, The Return of Martin Guerre unfolds the tale of a disappearance, an imposter, and a criminal trial that captivated sixteenth-century Europeans. Presented in a new edition with a foreword by Jill Lepore, Natalie Zemon Davis’s classic work of microhistory is justly regarded as a masterpiece.

A classic account of stolen identity in a sixteenth-century village, by one of the world’s greatest modern historians—now in a new edition for the first time in over forty years. In 1548, a French peasant by the name of Martin Guerre abruptly left his village in the Pyrenees, abandoning his parents, his young wife, and their infant son. When he suddenly reappeared eight years later, he was welcomed home and quickly restored to his status as heir and householder. Yet this Martin Guerre had a secret: He was not Martin Guerre at all, but an imposter named Arnaud du Tilh. In a now-classic work of historical reconstruction, Natalie Zemon Davis reveals the world of an ordinary family in extraordinary circumstances. What motivated the imposter du Tilh? Why did Bertrande, Martin Guerre’s wife, play along despite knowing the truth? As the rest of the Guerre family’s suspicions grew, the ruse boiled over into a criminal trial that captured imaginations across the continent. When the true Martin Guerre swaggered into the court and denounced the imposter, du Tilh’s fate was all but sealed. Guerre reclaimed his identity, his property, and his wife; du Tilh was sentenced to execution. Yet the story of the two Martin Guerres continued to captivate, told and retold over the centuries. Presented in a new edition with a foreword from Jill Lepore, The Return of Martin Guerre is an enduring masterpiece that has inspired and influenced generations of historians.