Géographie Universelle

Géographie Universelle, major French work on regional geography of the entire world. It consists of 15 volumes in 23 parts. The work is known for its vivid characterization and description of each region.

The first French attempt to provide a universal geography was Conrad Malte-Brun’s Précis de la Géographie Universelle published between 1810 and 1829. A second geography, the profusely illustrated Nouvelle Géographie Universelle by Elisée Réclus, comprised 19 volumes that were published between 1876 and 1894. Réclus’s effort was largely successful and has been called the “greatest individual writing feat in the history of geography. A third, expanded version was published as Géographie Universelle. It was organized and initiated by the French geographer Paul Vidal de la Blache, but it represented the combined efforts of some 15 geographers, mostly his students, under the editorship of Lucien Gallois. The set was published over a 19-year period (1927–46).