Abstract
Among historians, the name Georges Lefebvre needs no introduction. Anyone who has studied the French Revolution, whether at school or at a university, will have come across his books. They are plentiful, accessible, and apparently authoritative. At the last count, his text book histories of the Revolution had been translated into a dozen languages. With the two-hundredth anniversary of that event upon us, an evaluation of Georges Lefebvre's writings seems especially timely. Bicentenaries are hollow occasions unless accompanied by critical reflection, a function most effectively performed by the historian. Georges Lefebvre was the Grand Old Man of French Revolutionary historiography. He achieved this feat by living a very long time, by publishing frequently, and by endless indefatigable research in the archives. By the time of his death in 1959, he was acknowledged as the outstanding scholar of his generation; probably the outstanding Revolutionary scholar of any generation. This was quite an achievement when we consider the calibre of the men who launched the academic study of the French Revolution: Alphonse Aulard, Jean Jaures, Philippe Sagnac, and Albert Mathiez. Lefebvre was a master of his
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
