author
Gustave Ducoudray
1838–1906
A French historian and teacher, he wrote clear, accessible books that helped generations of students approach the history of France, civilization, and the ancient world. His work was shaped by a strong gift for explaining big historical ideas in a way ordinary readers could follow.
1 Audiobook
Histoire de France Tirée de Ducoudray
by O. B. (Ovando Byron) Super, Gustave Ducoudray
About the author
Born in Sens on October 30, 1838, and dead in Paris on September 12, 1906, Gustave Ducoudray was a French historian and educator. He is chiefly remembered for writing history textbooks and survey works that aimed to make broad stretches of the past understandable to students and general readers.
His books covered subjects such as French history, ancient civilization, and modern civilization. Several of these works were widely circulated and adapted beyond France, which suggests how useful readers found his straightforward, teaching-focused approach.
Ducoudray's reputation rests less on literary fame than on his role as a patient guide to history. For listeners coming to older nonfiction, his work offers a window into the way history was taught in late nineteenth-century France.