Life after death in foreign lands: Louis XIV and Anglo-American historians

This essay looks at the profound and rich contribution that has been made to the historiography of France's longest-reigning king, Louis XIV, in the last 200 years by Anglo-American historians, and it focusses in particular on the work done since the Second World War. It considers the range of themes upon which Anglo-American historians have focussed, how they have changed the approach of French scholars, how French scholars have influenced Anglo-American scholars, and what the personal background and training of these historians operating in the UK and the USA was. The essay goes right up to the 2010s, and seeks to assess the value of the contribution made by Anglo-American historians to the world's understanding of Louis XIV's regime in its broadest sense.