Tombs is known for his work on French history,particularly the Paris Commune,as well as Franco-British relations and,more recently,English history. He is the author of several books,including The War Against Paris,1871 (1981),France 1814–1914 (1996),That Sweet Enemy:The French and the British from the Sun King to the Present (2006,co-authored with Isabelle Tombs),and The English and Their History (2014).
Tombs was born in England. He was educated at St Chad's College for Boys,Wolverhampton (now the co-educational Our Lady and St Chad Catholic Academy),and Trinity Hall,Cambridge,where he read history.[5][6] He stayed on at Cambridge to complete a PhD in modern French history,conducting much of his research in France,and graduated in 1978 with a thesis on the response of the French state to the Paris Commune in 1871.[1][7] Tombs studied French at school but mainly learned the language by travelling to France,"getting jobs,making friends,and learning on the spot."[8]
Academic career
Following his PhD,Tombs embarked on a research fellowship at St John's College,Cambridge. He was then appointed a fellow of St John's and awarded a junior lectureship in the Faculty of History,University of Cambridge.[3] He has since held various Faculty and College posts,and served as co-editor of The Historical Journal.[9][10]
Tombs's speciality is 19th-century France,focusing primarily on the political culture of the working classes. His first book,The War Against Paris,1871 (which was adapted from his PhD thesis),analysed the role of the French Army in the suppression of the Paris Commune,and challenged a number of myths associated with that period.[11][12]
In 2006,along with his wife,Tombs 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.[13][14][15] The book received considerable media coverage in the United States,France,and the United Kingdom. It became critical when discussing Franco-British relations,and helped establish Tombs and his work in political,diplomatic,and policy circles. Following the publication of the book,the French government awarded Tombs in October 2007 the Ordre des Palmes académiques for "services rendered to French culture",and Tombs was appointed to the Franco-British Council in 2008.[16] In 2014,Tombs published The English and Their History,which was widely reviewed by the popular press.[17][18][19][20][21]
Tombs's retirement was announced in August 2016,[22] after which he became professor emeritus.[23] Tombs is the editor of History Reclaimed,[24] a website created by a "group of anti-woke scholars" that opposes what they claim to be censorship of historical texts in universities[25] including Nigel Biggar,Zareer Masani,and Andrew Roberts.[26]
↑ Howard, Michael (1 January 1983). "Review of Books". The English Historical Review. XCVIII (CCCLXXXVI). Cambridge University Press: 164–165. doi:10.1093/ehr/XCVIII.CCCLXXXVI.164.
↑ McNeill, W. H. (September 1983). "Review of Books". The Journal of Modern History. Chicago University Press: 549–551. doi:10.1086/242542. JSTOR1878622.
1 2 Jeffries, Stuart (25 March 2006). "Plus ça change". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
↑ Thorpe, Adam (18 March 2006). "The old misalliance". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
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