par Lucien Febvre
1992, in La Revue des revues no 14
Lucien Febvre : « A Letter to Henri Berr » [extract] followed by « Notes on the Revue de Synthèse »
Jacqueline Pluet-Despatin : Lucien Febvre and la Revue de Synthèse
Created in 1900 by Henri Berr, the Revue de Synthèse Historique gradually accepted synthetical research rather than exclusively historical and French. In 1931 it became la Revue de Synthèse, and Lucien Febvre began to assist Berr. A letter and personal notes give an insight into both the two men’s power-struggle, and Febvre’s commitment to his new task. His energetic « suggestions » for improvement include rigorous typographical aesthetics and uncompromising choices of contents. All point to a desire for a more intellectually invigorating Revue.