How the Modern World Emerged

Abstract

Although Tocqueville’s interest in American origins was a contributing factor in taking him to England, his interest in that country anticipated his voyage to America. In October 1828 he wrote a long summary essay on England based on the work of the historian Lingard, which Gargan rightly describes as ‘brilliant’.¹ When he attended Guizot’s lectures, he heard a good deal more about the constitutional and social differences of France and England which intrigued him and deeply influenced his later interpretation.