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GEORGES CLEMENCEAU AND THE ENGLISH

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2002

ROBERT K. HANKS
ROBERT K. HANKS
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
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Abstract

Georges Clemenceau has traditionally been portrayed as a narrow-minded French nationalist. In spite of this reputation, he had many personal friends in England and was widely considered during his lifetime to be France's most eminent anglophile. Although his biographers briefly mention these ties, no one has systematically explored their political and diplomatic implications. Making use of new archival and journalistic evidence, this article will examine Clemenceau's relationships with several English upper-class mavericks: the positivist Frederic Harrison, the head-strong and opinionated Maxse family, and the idiosyncratic social democratic leader Henry M. Hyndman. Their influence encouraged in him an attitude toward England which blended sincere anglophilia with a deep-rooted distrust of its governing classes. Only by exploring this paradox can we understand the roots of Clemenceau's ultimate disillusionment with England.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Historical Journal , Volume 45 , Issue 1 , March 2002 , pp. 53 - 77
Copyright
© 2002 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

I would like to thank M. André Wormser of the Musée Clemenceau for giving me permission to read Clemenceau's private papers. I am also in debt to M. Pierre Burgard of the Musée for his encouragement and knowledgeable discourse, as well as to Prof. David Schalk for his encouraging comments on a previous draft of this article presented to the Society for French Historical Studies in 1999. Thanks are also extended to Profs. Michael R. Marrus, David Higgs, Denis Smyth, and Eric Jennings at the University of Toronto, as well as to the editors and anonymous reviewers of the Historical Journal.