Alfred Cobban (1901–1968)

I am not knowledgeable enough about French history to weigh in on Cobban's anti-Marxist interpretation of the French Revolution (he offers a state-centric interpretation, where the weakness of the French state unleashed the aristocracy to challenge royal authority, which in turn inspired privileged non-aristocrats to challenge the aristocracy; the French republic, saddled with weak state infrastructure, buckles and French Revolutionary Army officers, now tested in the crucible of the Revolutionary wars, stage a coup and install their own in power). He is a great writer and has some really nice turns of phrase. He is a bit ostentatious, and expects his reader to have familiarity with the French language (often deploying French phrases without explaining what they mean) and French 18th century personages. It seems to me that such a reader would not have need of the survey he is writing here.… (mais)