John Knox Laughton was an early figure in modern naval-history scholarship and lends his name to King's College London's naval-history chair. His study of Suffren preserves how an early professional historian interpreted the admiral's audacity and reputation. Later scholarship often answers several generations of earlier interpretation, so going back to Laughton helps readers see how the subject developed. This section also identifies one of the lecture's principal sources.
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Reading Suffren through John Knox Laughton
John Knox Laughton's early study records Suffren's effect on British observers and shows why early naval histories are still worth reading.