Albert Sorel (13 August 184229 June 1906) was a French
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
. He was nominated for the
Nobel Prize in Literature nine times.
Life
He was born at
Honfleur and remained throughout his life a lover of his native
Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
. His father, a rich manufacturer, wanted him to take over the business but his literary vocation prevailed. He went to live in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, where he studied law and, after a prolonged stay in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, entered the Foreign Office (1866). He had strongly developed literary and artistic tastes, was an enthusiastic musician (even composing a little), and wrote both
poetry
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
and
novel
A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
s (''La Grande Falaise'', 1785â1793, ''Le Docteur Egra'' in 1873); but he was not a socialite.
He was the first cousin to the philosopher
Georges Sorel.
Academic life
Anxious to understand present as well as past events, he was above all a student. In 1870 he was chosen as secretary by M. de Chaudordy, who had been sent to
Tours
Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...
as a delegate in charge of the diplomatic side of the problem of national defence. He proved a most valuable collaborator, full of finesse, good temper, and excellent judgment, and at the same time hard-working and discreet. After the war, when
Emile Boutmy founded the ''Ecole libre des sciences politiques'' (which later became the ''
Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris'' or, as it is more widely known, ''Sciences Po''). Sorel was appointed to teach diplomatic history (1872), a duty which he performed with striking success. Some of his courses were converted into books: ''Le traité de Paris du 20 novembre 1815'' (1873); ''Histoire diplomatique de la
guerre franco-allemande'' (1875); and the ''Précis du droit des gens'' which he published (1877) in collaboration with his colleague
Theodore Funck-Brentano.
Writings

In 1875 Sorel left the Foreign Office and became general secretary to the newly created office of the ''Présidence du
sénat''. Here again, in a position where he could observe and review affairs, he performed valuable service, especially under the presidency of
Audiffret-Pasquier, who was glad to have Sorel's advice in the most serious crises of internal politics. His duties left him, however, sufficient leisure to enable him to accomplish the great work of his life, ''L'Europe et la révolution française''. His object was to repeat the work already done by
Heinrich von Sybel but from a less restricted point of view and with a clearer and calmer understanding of the chessboard of Europe. He spent almost thirty years in the preparation and composition of the eight volumes of this diplomatic history; volume 1 appeared in 1885; volume 8 in 1904.
Francis Herrick says, "it is still the best analysis of the European state system in the eighteenth century and the classic introduction to the study of revolutionary and Napoleonic diplomacy."
He was not merely a conscientious scholar; the analysis of the documents, mostly unpublished, on French diplomacy during the first years of the Revolution, which he published in the ''
Revue historique'' (vol. v.-vii., x.-xiii.), shows with what scrupulous care he read the innumerable despatches which passed under his notice. He was also, and above all things, an artist. He drew men from the point of view of a
psychologist
A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...
as much as of a historian, observing them in their surroundings and being interested in showing how greatly they are slaves to the fatality of history. It was this fatality which led the rashest of the
Conventionals to resume the tradition of the ''
ancien régime
''Ancien'' may refer to
* the French word for " ancient, old"
** Société des anciens textes français
* the French for "former, senior"
** Virelai ancien
** Ancien Régime
** Ancien Régime in France
{{disambig ...
'', and caused the revolutionary propaganda to end in a system of alliances and annexations which carried on the work of
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
. This view is certainly suggestive, but incomplete; it is largely true when applied to the men of the
French Revolution, inexperienced or mediocre as they were, and incompetent to develop the enormous enterprises of
Napoleon I.
Literary works
Sorel's ''magnum opus'', ''L'Europe et la revolution francaise'' (Europe and the French Revolution) was published in 8 volumes between 1885 and 1904. The 18th edition was published 1922-26, and the books were reprinted as facsimiles by Plon (1948), a German publisher (1974), and Tchou (2003). In 1928, extracts were published in English as ''Napoleon and the French Revolution, 1799-1814. Extracts from Albert Sorel's âL'Europe et la Revolution françaiseâ selected and edited by H. L. Hutton'' (Nelson, London, 1928, 178pp.).
The individual volumes are:
*v.1, ''Les mĆurs politiques et les traditions''. This is the only volume to have been translated fully into English.
Francis H. Herrick's English translation of chapter 1 was published as ''Europe under the old regime'' (
W. Ritchie, Los Angeles, 1947). The entire volume was translated by
Alfred Cobban and
Joseph Wray Hunt as ''Europe and the French Revolution; the political traditions of the Old Regime'' (
Collins, London, 1969).
*v.2, ''La chute de la royauté'';
*v.3, ''La guerre aux rois: 1792-1793'';
*v.4, ''Les limites naturelles: 1794-1795'';
*v.5, ''Bonaparte et le Directoire: 1795-1799'';
*v.6, ''La trĂȘve, LunĂ©ville et Amiens: 1800-1805'';
*v.7 ''Le blocus continental, le grand Empire: 1806-1812'';
*v.8, ''La coalition, les traités de 1815: 1812-1815''.
In the earlier volumes the reader is struck by the grandeur and relentless logic of the drama which the author unfolds. In the later volumes the reader may begin to have reservations, but the work is so complete and so powerfully constructed that it commands its audiences admiration. Side by side with this great general work, Sorel undertook various detailed studies more or less directly bearing on his subject. In ''La Question d'Orient au XVIII
e siĂšcle, les origines de la
triple alliance'' (1878), he shows how the
partition of Poland
The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the PolishâLithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign ...
on the one hand reversed the traditional policy of France in
eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
, and on the other hand contributed towards the salvation of
republic
A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
an France in 1793. In the ''Grands écrivains'' series he was responsible for ''Montesquieu'' (1887) and ''
Mme de Staël'' (1891). The portrait which he draws of
Montesquieu is all the more vivid for the intellectual affinities which existed between him and the author of the ''Lettres persanes'' (''
Persian Letters'') and the ''Esprit des lois'' (''
The Spirit of the Laws'').
Later, in ''Bonaparte et
Hoche en 1797'', he produced a critical comparison which is one of his most finished works (1896). In the ''Recueil des instructions données aux ambassadeurs'' he prepared vol. i. dealing with
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
(1884). Most of the articles which he contributed to various reviews and to the ''Temps'' newspaper have been collected into volumes: ''Essais d'histoire et de critique'' (1883), ''Lectures historiques'' (1894), ''Nouveaux essais d'histoire et de critique'' (1898), ''Etudes de littérature et d'histoire'' (1901). These writings contain a great deal of information and ideas not only about political men of the last two centuries but also about certain literary men and artists of
Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
. Honours came to him in abundance as an eminent writer and not as a public official. He was elected a member of the ''
Académie des sciences morales et politiques'' (December 18, 1889) on the death of
Fustel de Coulanges, and of the ''
Académie française
An academy (Attic Greek: áŒÎșÎ±ÎŽÎźÎŒÎ”Îčα; Koine Greek áŒÎșÎ±ÎŽÎ·ÎŒÎŻÎ±) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
'' (1894) on the death of
Hippolyte Taine.
Works
* ''La Grande Falaise, 1785-1793'', novel (1872)
* ''Le Traité de Paris du 20 novembre 1815'' (1872)
* ''Le Docteur Egra'', novel (1873)
* ''Une soirée à SÚvres pendant la Commune'' (1873)
* ''Histoire diplomatique de la
guerre franco-allemande''. 2 volumes, issued for his course at lâĂcole libre des sciences politiques. (1875)
* ''Précis du droit des gens'', with
Théophile Funck-Brentano. Tex
onlineat
Gallica. (1876)
* ''La Question dâOrient au 18th century : le partage de la Pologne, le traitĂ© de KaĂŻnardji'' (1877)
* ''Sur lâenseignement de lâhistoire diplomatique'' (1881)
* ''De lâorigine des traditions nationales dans la politique extĂ©rieure de la France'' (1882)
* ''Essais dâhistoire et de critique : Metternich, Talleyrand, Mirabeau, Ălisabeth et Catherine II, lâAngleterre et lâĂ©migration française, la diplomatie de Louis XV, les colonies prussiennes, lâalliance russe et la restauration, la politique française en 1866 et 1867, la diplomatie et le progrĂšs''. Tex
onlineat Gallica. (1883)
* ''Recueil des instructions donnĂ©es aux ambassadeurs et ministres de France depuis la paix de Westphalie jusquâĂ la RĂ©volution française : Autriche''. Tex
onlineat Gallica (1884)
* ''LâEurope et la RĂ©volution française'', 8 vols. (1885-1904)
* ''Montesquieu''. Tex
onlineat Gallica. (1887)
* ''Madame de Staël'' (1890)
* ''Lectures historiques : mémoires de soldats, le drame de Vincennes, Talleyrand et ses mémoires''. Tex
onlineat Gallica. (1894)
* ''Bonaparte et Hoche en 1797'' (1896)
* ''Nouveaux Essais dâhistoire et de critique'' (1898)
* ''Ătudes de littĂ©rature et dâhistoire'' (1901)
* ''Introduction au livre du centenaire du Code civil'' (1904)
* ''Discours prononcés aux obsÚques de
Ămile Boutmy, membre de lâInstitut de France, fondateur-directeur de lâĂcole libre des sciences politiques, le 28 janvier 1906''. (1906). Funeral speeches by
Léon Aucoc,
Ămile Gebhart,
Ătienne Hulot and Albert Sorel.
* ''Pages normandes'' (1907, posthumous)
* ''Vieux habits, vieux galons'' (1921, posthumous) Collection of short stories.
Criticisms
Sorel's work, especially on the downfall of Napoleon, has come under much criticism recently by
revisionist historians. His view was that Napoleon was legitimately fighting for the long-established French aim of 'natural frontiers' and that Napoleon merely inherited a foreign 'situation' and therefore did not create his own foreign policy, which has been contested by recent historians, such as Matthew MacLachlan and Michael Broers. They stressed that Napoleon was a nonconformist general and that his actions abroad did not conform with any traditional French foreign policy.
Later years
His speeches on his two illustrious predecessors show how keenly sensible he was of beauty and how unbiased was his judgment, even in the case of those whom he most esteemed and loved. He had just obtained the great Prix Osiris of 100,000 francs, conferred for the first time by the ''
Institut de France'', when he was stricken with his last illness and died at Paris.
He was associated with Turkish poets like
Yahya Kemal Beyatlı and the historian Yusuf Akçura.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorel, Albert
1842 births
1906 deaths
People from Honfleur
Historians of the French Revolution
Members of the Académie Française
Founders of Sciences Po
19th-century French historians
Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques
Writers from Normandy
Members of the Ligue de la patrie française
Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour
French male non-fiction writers
Members of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala