Henry Thomas Buckle’s The History of Civilization in England in France (1865–1918): A Transnational Reception Case

Abstract

abstract:The article examines how Henry Thomas Buckle’s History of Civilization in England was translated and understood in France from 1865 to 1918. Buckle was translated at a time when English historiography had lost its prominence in France. His positivism, and the influence that French thinkers such as Guizot, Michelet, and Comte had on his work, explain why Buckle was acclaimed during that period. He was published in a collection that made him appear as one of the leading international historians of his time. The article points out how French and British politics interfered with the publication of Buckle’s History under the Second Empire and how finally Buckle was eclipsed by Marx. Through Buckle, the article gives a new outline of the reception of English historiography in France during the latter part of the nineteenth century.