Introduction. The Essay. That Heretical Genre 1. Renewing the Ancients. Montaigne's Retelling of the Tales of Antiquity 2. Recounting Others, Recounting Self. Montaigne and the Conteurs of his Century 3. Rewriting Culture. Montaigne Recounts New World Ethnography 4. 'Se peindre de la plume': History, Biography, and Self-Portraiture in Montaigne's Reframing of History 5. A Storied Life and A Lived Story: Writing Oneself in Montaigne's Essais 6. "Mes ancestres avoient la medecine à contrecoeur ' 'My Ancestors had an Aversion to Medicine': Medical Discourse, Observation, and Self-Portraiture Conclusion 'Ce fagotage de tant de diverses pieces'/'This Bundle of So Many Disparate Pieces Notes Bibliography Index