Articles

Retrospective and Current Oral History Projects: A Comparison

---

Abstract

In the summer of 1789, Louis XVI of France was more preoccupied with his hunting than with affairs of state. His diary entry for July 14th recorded only his disappointment with the hunt: rien, nothing. Less than two years later, the great grandson of the Sun King had himself become the hunted and was destined to lose his life on the guillotine. Had Louis XVI lived another twenty years to write his memoirs, what would he have said about July 14th, Bastille Day, other than that the hunt had been poor? It seems certain that his retrospective version would have been colored by later circumstances: by whether or not he had been successful in putting down the revolution and in keeping his throne—as well as his head.

How to Cite:

Kenney, A. R., (1981) “Retrospective and Current Oral History Projects: A Comparison”, Archival Issues 6(1), 47-58. doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/archivalissues.8106