George Rudé-Communist Activist and Inactivist

This article traces the various phases in the life of George Rude (1910-93), starting with the son of a conservative family converting to communism following a chance trip to Russia as a twenty-two year old. He combined teaching modern languages in secondary schools with being an active functionary of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), and in the late-1940s he redirected his interests to the study of French revolutionary history, finally securing an academic position in Australia. The purpose of this article is not to write about Rude's academic life as such but, rather, to outline the nature and extent of his work on behalf of the CPGB and how this impacted on his life and work. In particular, why did he assume, and then shed, the mantle of party activist, and how did his Marxism affect the type of history he wrote?