Ruth Scurr: writing Robespierre's biography

'I used the British Library at least once a month when I was working on my PhD and on my first book about Robespierre and the French Revolution.

The Library has a world class collection of documents and prints relating to the Revolution which were collected by John Wilson Croker, the historian, who was supported by Prime Minister Peel when he went over to France after the Battle of Waterloo to collect the documents.

Scholars come from all over the world to use the Library and for me it has been an invaluable resource.'