Recs if you like The Return of Martin Guerre...

microhistory: the intensive historical investigation of a well defined smaller unit of research (such as an event, community, individual or a settlement); it aspires to "ask large questions in small places"

Nonfiction history books focusing on a specific topic or area but follow a narrative structure

Pentiment is a 2022 game by Obsidian Entertainment, following a young painter in early 1500 Germany as he reckons with a murder at the abbey he is visiting. For lovers of the late Middle Ages, mysteries, and all the changes we go through as human beings 💫 Contains creator's Josh Sawyer's recommendations and other books with similar themes!

ask large questions in small spaces! avoids (but not void of) memoirs/biographies, some case studies, and the macro i'm not a historian or an expert by any means but i am salty. a lot of contemporary lists for microhistory reads contain a lot of books that are absolutely not micro. At. All. think mark kurlansky ("milk", "salt", "cod" etc.), anything that starts with "a short history of [incredibly complex geopolitical event]", or literally any historical account that spans centuries/countries/cultures/individuals. while there is definitely some gray areas and overlap, a good way to attempt to distinguish micro from the macro is macrohistory looks at how an individual/event/object/place changed and influenced the world/society/culture -- an outward expansion of one idea that proliferates time and space. microhistory is the inverse. how did the contemporary society, culture, and world change and influence a specific, tangential individual/place/event? the micro attempts to answer that! so let's reduce the scale of investigation! focus on the ones history would have otherwise forgotten if not for the diligent note takers! we're talking footnotes! anecdotes! indexes! the hot goss! EA-NASIR! macrohistory is about everyone but microhistory is about you and me baby!

Non-fiction books about the renaissance. Books written during or leading up to the renaissance. and fiction books set during the renaissance.

Pentiment is a visual novel done in the captivating style of illuminated manuscripts. Set in the 16th century German village of Tassing and the nearby monastery, it's about an artist charged with solving a murder. It touches on faith, the occult, class conflict, the weight of our decisions, and much more

This is a combination of books recommended by Josh Sawyer and fans as dealing with similar themes to, providing historical context about, or having similar overall vibes to the game Pentiment

Women in Microhistories mainly - but some other notable ones!!!