Histoire du saint-simonisme (1825-1864)

Sébastien Charléty’s Histoire du saint-simonisme, published by Paul Hartmann in 1931, serves as a definitive academic exploration of the Saint-Simonian movement. The work emerged from Charléty's deep archival research into the early 19th-century French social and political school of thought founded by Henri de Saint-Simon, which advocated for industrial progress and the scientific organization of society. At the time of its release, the book was recognized for providing a rigorous, objective narrative of the movement's rise and eventual decline in the mid-19th century.

The design and scholarly approach of the 1931 edition reflect the intellectual climate of the interwar period, where historians sought to categorize and understand the roots of socialist and technocratic ideologies. Charléty, a distinguished historian and future rector of the Academy of Paris, intended to strip away the hagiographic tendencies of previous accounts. The book was received by contemporary scholars as a major contribution to historiography, noted for its meticulous documentation and clear synthesis of complex utopian theories.