Arlette Farge's archival detective work on a 18th-century adultery case

Historian Arlette Farge's book 'Un ruban et des larmes' (Éditions des Busclats) investigates a young wife accused of adultery by her husband in 18th-century France, supported by neighbor testimonies. Farge notices linguistic discordance: the libertine aristocratic language used to describe the woman's actions does not fit her artisan-class background. The archival documents lack internal coherence, leading Farge to suspect fiction. The resolution reveals that a man fascinated by aristocratic libertinage wrote a light comedy that turned into a realist drama with convent and prison settings. The book ends when the imposture is uncovered and the actors return to anonymity.