volumes were published, starting in 1840. Laponneraye contributed a long introduction. His editorial work made Robspierre's writings available to the French public for the first time; up to now, his ideas had only been known from hostile reports. This made Laponneraye a celebrity of sorts in republican circles. While in prison, Laponneraye also wrote a Cours d'Histoire and a Commentary on the Rights of Man, of which 200,000 copies were published and distributed. Political historiography In his short life, Laponneraye wrote a prodigious amount. In addition to his journalism, he wrote copiously on historical topics, mostly on the history of the French Revolution and the revolutionary movement since then. He also forayed into ancient and medieval history, Russian history and the biographies of popes, kings and emperors and wrote an account of the culture of early 19th century Paris, its literature, monuments and fashions, which may be of interest to historians and social scientists today. Laponneraye often launched ambitious multi-volume projects he could only partially complete. Even so, he produced a prodigious amount of work, sometimes in collaboration with Hippolyte Lucas. While Laponneraye's historiography may not meet academic standards of scholarship, it was not out of keeping with the romantic historiography of his day. Laponneraye's historical writings were not intended as exercises in scholarship but as efforts in popular education and republican propaganda. However, it is noteworthy that Laponneraye, anticipating Marx to some extent, saw class struggles as the driving force of history and interpreted the French Revolution as the result of a class struggle between 'exploiters' and 'exploited'. The Revolution of 1789 had led to the triumph of the bourgeoisie but was incomplete and would eventually be completed by a proletarian revolution. A list of many of his publications from the 1830s and '40s is given below. Revolutionary journalism and Communism In 1836, while still in prison, Laponneraye married Françoise Sébille. In 1837 he was released in the course of an amnesty. By now he was a respected figure among republicans and socialists. He had already made several forays into pamphleteering and journalism. In 1837 he founded his own journal, L'Intelligence, subtitled Journal du Droit Commun. In this he propagated his ideology of Jacobin republicanism, anti-clericalism and communism. The journal attracted talented collaborators, such as Richard Lahautière. It was read widely, not only in France but also in Switzerland, where it won the admiration of Buonarroti and his Babouvist