Halévy, Élie [key], 1870–1937, French historian, an authority on 19th-century England; son of Ludovic Halévy. In The Growth of Philosophic Radicalism (3 vol., 1901–4; tr., new ed. 1949) Halévy made a major contribution to the intellectual history of utilitarianism. His masterpiece, a historical classic, is A History of the English People in the Nineteenth Century (6 vol., 1912–30; tr., 2d ed. 1949–52). Based on massive research, it describes and analyzes the development of ideas and institutions. Particularly notable is the first volume, England in 1815, a brilliant re-creation of social, political, economic, and religious conditions.
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