On this week’s episode, we pay tribute to Gertrude Himmelfarb who passed away last Monday, December 30th, at the age of 97. Gertrude Himmelfarb was a historian and leading intellectual voice in conservatism. Throughout her career, she wrote many books about Victorian history, morality and contemporary culture. The New York Post named her one of America’s greatest minds, and the National Review called her the “paragon of intellectual accomplishment.” What did her work contribute to the conservative movement and how does her view of history inform our current times? Yuval Levin, Resident Scholar and the Director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at AEI, joins us on this episode to talk about her work and legacy.
Check out additional resources for this episode:
“The Historian as Moralist,” by Yuval Levin
“Gertrude Himmelfarb: Teacher of the Free and Virtuous Society,” by Dan Hugger
Buy Lord Acton: A Study in Conscience and Politics by Gertrude Himmelfarb
“Lionel Trilling & the critical imagination,” by Gertrude Himmelfarb
“The Historian of Moral Revolution,” by David Brooks
Gertrude Himmelfarb (1922-2019): The historian of moral revolution
“Gertrude Himmelfarb ‘Threads the Needle’ on Lord Acton Biography”
Buy Lord Acton: Historical and Moral Essays
New to the Acton Line podcast? Subscribe here! We also recommend starting with these episodes:
Do you have feedback for the Acton Line podcast team? We want to hear from you! Email us at Actonline@acton.org. If you like Acton Line, don’t forget to leave a rating and review on the Apple podcast app!
