Robert Tombs
Robert P. Tombs (born 8 May 1949)[1] is a British historian of France, and is Professor Emeritus of French History at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of St John's College. Prior to this, he was a Reader in the subject until 2007.[2]
Professor Robert Tombs | |
---|---|
Born | 8 May 1949 |
Education | Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge |
Occupation | Historian and academic |
Employer | St John's College, Cambridge |
Spouse(s) | Isabelle Tombs (née Bussy) |
Tombs' specialty is nineteenth-century France, particularly the Paris Commune. His work focused on the political culture of the working classes, and led him to revise a number of myths associated with the history of the Commune. His first book, The War Against Paris, 1871, analysed the rôle of the French army in the suppression of the Paris Commune.[3]
In 2006, with his wife, Isabelle Tombs, he wrote That Sweet Enemy: The French and the British from the Sun King to the Present, a history of the relationship between Britain and France.[4][5][6] His wife, Isabelle Tombs (née Bussy), was born in France and is in charge of French training at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
In 2014, Tombs published The English and Their History, which was widely reviewed.[7][8][9][10][11]
Tombs' retirement was announced in August 2016, after which he became Professor Emeritus.[12] He is currently co-editor of Briefings for Brexit, a consortium of academics and educators who support Britain's withdrawal from the European Union.
Major books and articles
- The War Against Paris, 1871, Cambridge, CUP, 1981, 256 p.
- Thiers 1797–1877: A Political Life, with J.P.T. Bury, London, Allen & Unwin, 1986, 307 p.
- Nationhood and Nationalism in France: From Boulangism to the Great War 1889–1918 (editor), London, Harper Collins, 1991, 286 p.
- France 1814–1914, London, Longman, 1996, 590 p.
- The Paris Commune, 1871, London, Longman, 1999, 244 p.
- Cross-Channel Currents: 100 Years of the Entente Cordiale, London, Routledge, 2004.
- That Sweet Enemy: The French and the British from the Sun King to the Present, with Isabelle Tombs, London, W. Heinemann, 2006, 780 p.
- Britain and France in Two World Wars: Truth, Myth and Memory, with Emile Chabal, London, Bloomsbury, 2013.
- (in French) Paris, bivouac des révolutions. La Commune de 1871 (Paris, bivouac of revolutions. The Commune of 1871), Paris, Libertalia, 2014.
- The English and Their History: The First Thirteen Centuries, London, Penguin, 2014, 875 p.
- This Sovereign Isle, Allen Lane, 224p
References
- "Tombs, Robert P. 1949-". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
- "Appointments, reappointment, and grant of title".
- "Review of The War Against Paris, 1871, ; The March to the Marne: The French Army 1871-1914". The Journal of Modern History: 549–551. 1983. JSTOR 1878622.
- Jeffries, Stuart (25 March 2006). "Interview: Stuart Jeffries meets Robert and Isabelle Tombs". the Guardian.
- Thorpe, Adam (18 March 2006). "Review: That Sweet Enemy by Robert and Isabelle Tombs". the Guardian.
- "That Sweet Enemy: the French and the British from the Sun King to the". 24 March 2006.
- "A once and future realm". The Economist.
- Davenport-Hines, Richard (17 November 2014). "The English and Their History review – 'a book of resounding importance to contemporary debates'". the Guardian.
- "'The English and Their History,' by Robert Tombs". 31 December 2015 – via NYTimes.com.
- McKay, Sinclair (16 December 2014). "The English and their History by Robert Tombs, review: 'brilliance and sly wit'" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- Frum, David. "The Misunderstood Past (and Uncertain Future) of England".
- Robert Tombs (editor/compiler) (August 2016). "Retirements". History Faculty Newsletter. Faculty of History, Cambridge. 7.
External links
- Academic profile, University of Cambridge.
- Academic profile, St John's College, Cambridge.
- (in French) "Les communards ont suivi par devoir, par camaraderie" ("The Communards followed by duty, camaraderie"), interview, Libération, 9 April 2014.