Books by Natalie Zemon Davis

Captured by Christian pirates in the Mediterranean and imprisoned by the pope, then released, baptized, and allowed a European life of scholarship as the Christian writer Giovanni Leone, Al-Hasan al-Wazzan - or Leo Africanus - is a celebrated but hitherto elusive figure.

Davis retrieves three women's lives from historical obscurity to give us a window onto the early modern world. Glikl bas Judah Leib, Marie de l'Incarnation, and Maria Sibylla Merian were living "on the margins" in 17th-century Europe, North America, and South America. They left behind writings that make for a spellbinding and informative tale.

The clever peasant Arnaud du Tilh had almost won his case when a man with a wooden leg swaggered into the French courtroom, denounced du Tilh, and reestablished his claim to the identity, property, and wife of Martin Guerre. This book, by the noted historian who served as a consultant for the film, adds new dimensions to this famous legend.