"The Return of Martin Guerre" by Natalie Zemon Davis

"The Return of Martin Guerre" is a novel about French lifestyle of the 1500's. During the 16th century in France, the majority of people were not literate, so recording the events of their everyday lives, thoughts and other things was rarely done. Zemon Davis' portrayal of village inhabitants in the story shows how much historical research she must have put into her work. Even without positive proof or knowledge of what life was like at the time, Zemon Davis has created an entire community of people living how she thought they would have by the information she had gathered from other sou…