“ His father, a Vendean by birth, was an ordinary locksmith, who enthusiastically accepted the principles of the French Revolution and roused in his son the same love for liberal ideas. Francois had brilliant successes when studying at Avignon in the lycée where he was afterwards professor (1815) ; he returned to Aix to study law, and in 1818 was called to the bar, where his eloquence would have ensured his success had he not preferred the career of an historian. ”

“ He worked slowly when in his study, and willingly lingered over research. With the exception of his description of the French Revolution, which was chiefly a political manifesto, all his early works refer to the middle ages—De La féodalité, des institutions de Saint Louis et de l’influence de la législation de ce prince (1822) ”

“ His most noted works are devoted to modern history. For a long time he had been taken up with a history of the Reformation, but only one part of it, dealing with the Reformation at Geneva, has been published. His Histoire de Marie Stuart (2 vols., 1851) is well worth reading ”