Louis-Pierre Anquetil

[2] In 1759, he was appointed prior of the abbey de la Roe in Anjou; shortly thereafter he became director of the college of Senlis.

[3] At the beginning of the French Revolution, he moved to the curacy of La Villette near Paris but, during the Reign of Terror, he was imprisoned at St-Lazare.

[1] While there, he began his summary of world history (Précis de l'histoire universelle), afterwards published in nine volumes.

Augustin Thierry criticized the work as "cold and colourless", and mentioned that Anquetil compared unfavorably to other noted French historians.

[4] The work was compiled at second or third hand[2] and censurable in many respects[1] but went through numerous editions and made Anquetil famous.