ABSTRACT
French academics have come to respect the work of Thomas Carlyle, even though he is largely unknown among them. His The French Revolution, A History is no exception. Carlyle was born weeks after the Insurrection of Vendemiaire, which according to him marked the conclusion of The French Revolution. David Sorensen has offered convincing proof of the extent of his commitment, and it will be valuable to have a definitive account of the sources Carlyle used when the forthcoming Strouse edition of The French Revolution is published. Carlyle suggests that the Revolution is simply the end of a lengthy process that started much earlier. Carlyle was extraordinarily sensitive to the paradoxical aspects of historical inquiry. He realized that the word 'history' sprung from two sources: Latin historia, suggesting 'a narrative of past events', and Greek, denoting 'an inquiry, an investigation'.
