Joachim Martin

Joachim Martin
Born (1842-04-18)April 18, 1842
Les Crottes, Hautes-Alpes, Kingdom of France
Died 1897 (aged 54–55)
Les Crottes, Hautes-Alpes, French Republic
Nationality France French
Occupation Carpenter
Known for Hiding a diary under the floorboards of Château de Picomtal

Joachim Martin (1842-1897) was a carpenter from the village of Les Crottes, in the French Alps, who left a secret diary underneath the floorboards of the Château de Picomtal.[1]

The diary is made up of 72 entries dated between 1880 and 1881. Varying between mundane observations and poignant personal opinions, the diary provides a frank look into the provincial lives of Martin and his neighbors. Among his revelations are the fact that another villager had committed infanticide multiple times and hidden the evidence under a stable. Martin refused to report the man, even when he tried to seduce Martin's wife, writing, "He's my old childhood friend. And his mother is my father's mistress."[2]

The floorboards were excavated in the early 2000s[3], but the existence of the diary was not widely known until the publication of a book called Joaquim's Floorboard by historian Jacques-Olivier Boudon. He noted that the diary consists of "the words of an ordinary working man, a man of the people [...] saying things that are very personal, because he knows they will not ever be read except a long time in the future."[2]

References

  1. ↑ Ross, Greg (8 July 2018). "Confidences". Futility Closet. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  2. 1 2 Schofield, Hugh (3 June 2018). "The secrets of a diary written on castle floorboards". BBC News. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  3. ↑ Boudon, Jacques-Olivier (2017). "Le plancher de Joachim: l'histoire retrouvée d'un village français". Worldcat. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
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