A Tale of Two Murders: Passion and Power in Seventeenth-Century France
James R. Farr reveals the Giroux affair not only as a riveting murder mystery but also as an illuminating point of entry into the dynamics of power, justice, and law in seventeenth-century France. Drawing on the voluminous trial records, Farr uses Giroux's experience in the court system to trace the mechanisms of power-both the formal power vested by law in judicial officials and the informal power exerted by the nobility through patron-client relationships. He does not take a position on Giroux's guilt or innocence. Instead, he allows readers to draw their own conclusions about who did what to whom on that ill-fated evening in 1638.
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Become an affiliateJames R. Farr is Professor of History at Purdue University. He is the author of Artisans in Europe, 1300-1914; Authority and Sexuality in Early Modern Burgundy, 1550-1730; and Hands of Honor: Artisans and Their World in Dijon, 1550-1650.
"James R. Farr has produced a terrific work of historical research, a book that offers both compelling narrative and suggestive analyses. A Tale of Two Murders addresses basic questions about how early modern society functioned, and it should interest specialists and non-specialists alike."--Jonathan Dewald, author of Aristocratic Experience and the Origins of Modern Culture: France, 1570-1715
"A Tale of Two Murders is ... riveting and readable, equally appropriate for an audience of university students or general readers."--Brian Sandberg "Renaissance Quarterly"
"Combining a gripping narrative with keen analysis, Farr uses this case to shed light on patronage and the pursuit of power among the seventeenth-century French nobility."--Jeffrey R. Watt, "Sixteenth Century Journal"
"In my experience, Farr's book is a fine teaching tool. Wrapped in taut suspense, readers are gripped by indecision; guilty, not guilty; could be, maybe not. Adopting a smart strategy, he does not take a stand for or against the Giroux verdict (1643), so students may be asked to summarize evidence on both sides--reason about it--and offer verdicts of their own. A compelling historical narrative based on careful scholarship, this book is a valuable addition to studies of early modern France."--Sarah Hanley "American Historical Review"
"The best micro-histories manage to convey the texture of a vanished culture and to define and amplify the basic issues, concerns, and imperatives that infused the society in which the highlighted events unfolded. Farr's engrossing study, A Tale of Two Murders, delivers those insights in spades."--Jay M. Smith "Journal of Interdisciplinary History"