author
Claude Guillaume Bourdon de Sigrais
1715–1791
An 18th-century French writer and historian with a military background, he brought a scholar’s curiosity to subjects ranging from ancient peoples to the wonderfully odd world of rats. His work mixes erudition, satire, and a taste for unexpected corners of history.
1 Audiobook
Histoire des rats, pour servir à l'histoire universelle
by Claude Guillaume Bourdon de Sigrais
About the author
Born in Lons-le-Saunier and active in the 18th century, Claude-Guillaume Bourdon de Sigrais was a French writer, historian, and former military man. Sources agree that he died in 1791, though some references differ on whether he was born in 1712 or 1715, so that detail is best treated with caution.
After a military career, he turned increasingly toward historical study. Library and scholarly reference sources associate him with works on the Gauls, Germans, Franks, and the military spirit of earlier France, and they note his membership in the Académie royale des inscriptions et belles-lettres.
He is also remembered for Histoire des rats, pour servir à l'histoire universelle, a witty and unusual book that shows how comfortably he could move between serious historical interests and playful, satirical writing. That mix of learning and curiosity gives his work its distinctive charm.