152. Janet Lewis — The Wife of Martin Guerre with Iris Jamahl Dunkle

Set in 16th-century France and published in 1941, Janet Lewis’s “The Wife of Martin Guerre” revolves around one woman's struggle to reconcile cold facts with the truth in her heart. Inspired by a real historical incident, the novella delves into the trial of a woman who faces a predicament when her long-lost husband unexpectedly reappears. Our guest is poet, biographer, and UC Davis professor Iris Jamahl Dunkle. 

Discussed: 

Yvor Winters

Ernest Hemingway

Tillie Olsen

The Wife of Martin Guerre (novel) by Janet Lewis

West: Fire: Archive (poetry collection) by Iris Jamahl Dunkle

Poetry Magazine

The History of a Nun (novel) by Aphra Behn

Billy Budd (novella) by Herman Melville

Imagism (poetic movement)

"The Return of Martin Guerre" - A nonfiction work by Natalie Zemon Davis, which explores the real historical court case on which the novel is based

"The Trial of Sören Qvist" - One of Janet Lewis's novels from the "Circumstantial Evidence" trilogy

"The Ghost of Monsieur Scarron" - Another novel by Janet Lewis, the final book in the "Circumstantial Evidence" trilogy.

"The Grapes of Wrath" - John Steinbeck

"Whose Names Are Unknown" - A novel by Sanora Babb