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A Transatlantic Friendship: the Close Relationship Between the Historians Georges Lefebvre and Robert R

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A Transatlantic Friendship: the Close Relationship Between the Historians Georges Lefebvre and Robert R ••• ••• A Transatlantic Friendship: The Close Relationship between the Historians Georges Lefebvre and Robert R. Palmer James Friguglietti Professor of History Emeritus, Montana State University–Billings Abstract • For some twenty years the historians Georges Lefebvre and Robert R. Palmer maintained a “transatlantic friendship.” Beginning with his translation of Lefebvre’s Coming of the French Revolution, Palmer became a close friend of his French colleague, providing him with much-needed food, books, and information. In return Lefebvre published articles written by his American friend in his journal Annales historiques de la Révolution française as well as off ered advice about his research. Thanks to their intellectual cooperation, the two advanced the study of the Revolution in their respective countries. Despite the consider- able diff erences between their political outlooks—Lefebvre was a committed Marxist and Palmer was a liberal Democrat—the two men remained close friends until Lefebvre’s death in 1959. Much of this article is based on the recently published correspondence of Lefebvre with Palmer. Keywords • democratic revolution, French Revolution, historiography, Georges Lefebvre, Robert R. Palmer, transatlantic exchange or nearly twenty years, two of the most prominent historians of the FFrench Revolution maintained what might be called a “transatlantic friendship.” The Frenchman Georges Lefebvre (1874–1959) and the Ameri- can Robert R. Palmer (1909–2002) devoted much of their careers to promot- ing the work of the other, thereby contributing to a better understanding of the period to which they devoted the greater part of their lives. Although they met only twice, the two historians exchanged a lengthy correspon- dence that reveals much about their scholarly activities as well as their per- sonal lives. Reading what Lefebvre wrote to his American colleague offers insights about his thinking as well as personal information unavailable else- where. These twenty-three letters dating from 1948 to 1959—unfortunately those written between 1940 and 1948 are lost—have been published in the Historical Refl ections Volume 37, Issue 3, Winter 2011 © Berghahn Journals doi: 10.3167/hrrh.2011.370305 ISSN 0315-7997 (Print), ISSN 1939-2419 (Online) Annales historiques de la Révolution française, now making them accessible to scholars.1 The infl uence of Lefebvre on Palmer’s own work predates their friend- ship. While teaching history at Princeton University, Palmer had already become familiar with Lefebvre’s work, having read La Révolution française, co-written with Philippe Sagnac and Raymond Guyot, fi rst published in 1930 and reissued in 1938, as well as Napoléon, published in 1935. The two volumes formed part of the “Peuples et Civilisations” collection issued by the Presses Universitaires de France.2 Thus infl uenced by Lefebvre’s earlier work on the Revolution, Palmer completed one of his major historical studies on the period. Published in 1941 and based on previously published documents and secondary sources held by the Princeton library, Twelve Who Ruled: The Year of the Terror in the French Revolution remains a classic account of the Revo- lution at its apogee. Palmer later recalled that “around 1938 when he read certain pages written by Lefebvre,” he developed the idea of writing his own account of the Terror.3 The long and cordial friendship between the two men began in 1940. A few months after the outbreak of World War II, Palmer learned from his good friend and fellow historian of the Revolution, Leo Gershoy, that another volume produced by Lefebvre had appeared in 1939. “This book on 1789 [Quatre-vingt-neuf] was written by him for general readers in commemora- tion of the 150th anniversary of the French Revolution,” Palmer informed his good friend and publisher Alfred A. Knopf in May 1940. “I have not yet seen the book itself, but from talking with Mr. Gershoy about it I am per- suaded that it would be well worth translating into English, more so, in fact, than his bigger book on the French Revolution.” To buttress his argument, Palmer declared that “Professor Lefebvre is the greatest living authority on the French Revolution … I should think it would be highly desirable to have some of his work available in English.” He concluded by remarking, “I can think of nothing more suitable than this sesquicentennial volume.”4 Early in June Palmer again wrote to Knopf, informing him that he had acquired an autographed copy of Quatre-vingt-neuf from Lefebvre himself. He lauded it as “an excellent account of the origins and beginning of the Revolu- tion.” Palmer declared it to be “better than anything I know in English on the causes of the Revolution.” He offered to send the publisher a copy of the trans- lation of the introduction and conclusion that he had already completed.5 Soon thereafter, the German invasion, conquest, and occupation inter- rupted contact between Palmer and Lefebvre. In a letter that he wrote to Knopf on 19 June, Palmer spoke gloomily of the “impending destruction of France,” but added optimistically that, “we are undoubtedly on an upswing of emphasis on the foundations, historical and ideological, of democracy.”6 Whatever plans he had for completing a translation of Quatre-vingt-neuf were put aside, leaving Palmer to return to his own scholarship. Only after the Liberation did the collaboration of Palmer and Lefebvre resume. The fact that Quatre-vingt-neuf was never copyrighted in France Friguglietti • A Transatlantic Friendship 57 helped to make a translation much easier, because no fees needed to be paid to the publisher, La Maison du livre français. Lefebvre himself remarked to Palmer that he had no fi nancial interest in the matter and had made a gift of the completed manuscript to the French government in memory of the men of 1789. Whatever proceeds might accumulate from the sale of the original version or from the translation would go to the Société des études robespier- ristes.7 With Lefebvre’s “cordial cooperation,” Palmer completed the transla- tion by September 1947.8 Princeton University Press issued the translation, published under the title The Coming of the French Revolution, but without the eight black-and- white plates that had appeared in the French version, which had included a portrait of King Louis XVI and Jacques-Louis David’s sketch for the “The Tennis Court Oath.” Alternatively, Palmer’s volume provided a detailed index of people, places, and topics absent from Lefebvre’s original. He also added the complete text of The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 in order to complement Lefebvre’s detailed analysis of that fundamental document. One feature of Palmer’s translation must not be overlooked. As early as June 1940, just as he was preparing a preliminary translation, Palmer de- cided to eliminate the fi nal two paragraphs of Lefebvre’s text.9 The precise reasons for this omission remain unclear. Perhaps he considered the prose far too nationalistic and emotional. Curiously Palmer never mentions this fact in his translation. Almost no one at the time seems to have realized this silent purge.10 Fortunately, more than a half-century since The Coming of the French Revolution fi rst appeared, Timothy Tackett, in his reissue of the vol- ume, conscientiously restored them to their rightful place. They fully refl ect the intensity of Lefebvre’s Jacobin patriotism on the eve of World War II. Here are the fi nal paragraphs of Tackett’s 2005 version: It is thus through a gross misunderstanding that the Declaration [of the Rights of Man and Citizen] has been portrayed as an invitation to a dull and mediocre life of material well-being; and that in order to strike it from the face of the earth, some people have tried to appeal to our youth and to their penchant for danger and action. Youth of 1939! The Declaration is also a tradition, a glorious tradition. Listen, as you read it, to the voice of your forefathers, to those who shouted “Long Live the Nation!” as they fought at Valmy, at Jemappes, and at Fleurus. They gave you freedom, a noble right that, in all the universe, only mankind can enjoy. They remind you that your fate is in your hands, and that the fu- ture of society depends on you alone. Be conscious of the danger. But since danger appeals to you, it should not make you shrink back. Consider the grandeur of your task, but also the dignity that this task bestows upon you. Would you renounce such responsibilities? Your ancestors have confi dence in you. It is you who will soon be the Nation. Long Live the Nation!11 In the lengthy preface to his translation, Palmer introduced Lefebvre to his American audience. He presented a few biographical details concern- 58 Historical Refl ections • Winter 2011 ing the French historian and stressed his republican credentials. However, Palmer also emphasized his balanced approach to the study of the Revolu- tion, remarking that the volume “probably gives the best rounded picture of the Old Regime available in English since Tocqueville.”12 He praised Lefebvre for his deep understanding of French society, what Palmer styled his “exact perception of social classes,” particularly the peasantry.”13 When it appeared, The Coming of the French Revolution received near unani mous praise from American scholars. Reviewing it in The Nation, Crane Brinton observed that, “M. Lefebvre’s book is simply the best introduction to the study of the French Revolution available in English.”14 Leo Gershoy praised the work with similar enthusiasm. Writing in the New York Herald Tribune Book Review, he commented that, “in all respects this relatively brief study is a work of extraordinary merit and admirably presents the author to the American reading public.” Gershoy went on to say that Lefebvre dis- played “the virtues of great learning gracefully worn; psychological fi nesse; keen appreciation of the role of personality and of the infl uence of chance; … compassion for the unfortunate, and a magnifi cent talent for lucid and vigorous expression of balanced judgments.”15 Not all reviewers of Palmer’s translation were as ecstatic, however.
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