Finding the Woman Who Didn’t Exist: The Curious Life of Gisèle d’Estoc by Melanie C. Hawthorne

Abstract

became popular,Pécoul’s loyalties toward French plainchant itself became divided.Ellis tells this complicated story well. Oberlin College (OH) Affiliate Scholar Laurence M. Porter Hawthorne, Melanie C. Finding the Woman Who Didn’t Exist: The Curious Life of Gisèle d’Estoc. Lincoln: UP of Nebraska, 2013. ISBN 978-0-8032-4034-6. Pp. 216. $35. This fascinating, highly readable book is not what one expects at first glance. Indeed, contrary to what Hawthorne states in her introduction—“This is a book about Gisèle d’Estoc” (1)—it is actually about much more. Yes, it is about this relatively unknown French artist and writer who lived during the last half of the nineteenth century and was well connected to the worlds of art and literature during the 1880s and later. Her true identity and accomplishments are discovered and revealed here. Yet, Hawthorne adeptly—and entertainingly—uses her research project on d’Estoc to reflect on research in the humanities, archival research, the writing of biography, truth and narrative, reasoning and discovery: “This book, then, is partly about what researchers in the humanities really do when they do research”(34). For years, scholars did not know the identity of the woman whose pseudonym was Gisèle d’Estoc; many theories existed about who she was, or even if she actually existed. Hawthorne picks up the thread of this mystery describing how, in the late 1930s, a journalist published a previously unknown work with the title Une adoratrice de Maupassant: le cahier d’amour, which recounted the anonymous diarist’s love affair with Maupassant. Immediately, Maupassant scholars challenged the authenticity of the diary. In their ensuing critical exchanges, the author of the diary was identified as Gisèle d’Estoc, but the diary was denounced as a fake and the existence of d’Estoc was put into question. From this point, Hawthorne’s pursuit of the true identity of d’Estoc takes the reader on a winding route through misinterpretations, withheld information, erroneous assumptions,and the inability of scholars to see things differently,all the while revealing her own discoveries of the truth about her subject. Hawthorne’s meticulous research follows in some detail the debate and confusion about d’Estoc up to the 1960s when Armand Lanoux wrongly identified d’Estoc’s date of birth. This is the puzzle that Hawthorne successfully works out in this book, while revealing the hard work involved in humanities research. Hawthorne provides summaries of historical events, several portrayals of the world of the decadent movement in French literature, including scenes from the lesbian demimonde in late nineteenth-century France. These render the text lively and fascinating while providing essential information related to d’Estoc’s life. Hawthorne’s dual purpose—discovering the truth about the life of d’Estoc and describing the process of research—is underscored by the digressions in each chapter, triggered by particular problems Hawthorne faced during her research. This didactic 240 FRENCH REVIEW 87.4 Reviews 241 purpose is underscored by the subtitles of each chapter, which are labeled with oneline lessons or recommendations that relate to the chapter content. Hawthorne’s“story of the story”succeeds in revealing the truth about this fascinating and enigmatic figure while allowing the reader to share in the frustration and joy of discovery in humanities research. Texas Christian University Sharon L. Fairchild Hodson, Christopher. The Acadian Diaspora. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012. ISBN 9780 -19-973977-6. Pp. 260. $34.95. In late summer of 1755, British ships entered present-day Nova Scotia to deport 7,000 out of 15,000 Acadians into the unknown. Soon after, 5,000 more from Île SaintJean (Prince Edward Island) and Île Royale (Cape Breton Island) followed them.After years of hard work and alliances with the Mi’kmaq Native Americans,these descendants of seventeenth-century French immigrants had succeeded in producing abundant crops. Caught in the political power struggles between Great Britain and France, they maintained their neutrality. The British, reluctant to adopt Francophone Catholics into their expanding Empire, expelled the unwanted settlers and repopulated the area with loyal citizens. Hodson sees this dérangement in biblical terms, similar to the Jewish diaspora in ancient...