The (mis)fortune of Thomas Paine: A historical and historiographic problem

Abstract

The present text aims to demonstrate the existence of a historical and historiographical problem concerning the persona of Thomas Paine. Moving from this problem, Paine’s place in history has not received well-deserved recognition. In order to demonstrate the reasons for the existence of the Paine problem, it is necessary to present a brief exposition of the author’s life and work, a survey and evaluation of the questions that concern his biographies, the problems concerning the publications of his complete works, and the debates about his legacy and his historiographical fortune. The present article emphasizes three texts by Paine which have been little or hardly explored by historiography, although we consider them fundamental in the study of the democratic revolutions of the late 18th century.