The belated recognition of the so-called “Cambridge School” in France may well be partly the consequence of a misunderstanding. Although French philosophers and political scientists have every reason to stress the theoretical significance of John Pocock and Quentin Skinner, this should not be done at the expense of overlooking their impact on historical research. This review of several historians, all influenced by the “Cambridge School ” in different ways (and sometimes associated with the less famous but more historical “Sussex School” of Collini, Burrow and Winch) is an attempt to illustrate the originality and variety of intellectual history in Britain.