Historians have expressed high regard for Pedro II and his reign. The scholarly literature dealing with him is vast and, with the exception of the period immediately after his ouster, overwhelmingly positive, and even laudatory. He has been regarded by several historians in Brazil as the greatest Brazilian. In a manner similar to methods which were used by republicans, historians point to the Emperor's virtues as an example to be followed, although none go so far as to advocate a restoration of the monarchy. Historian Richard Graham noted that "twentieth-century historians, moreover, have looked back on the period [of Pedro II's reign nostalgically, using their descriptions of the Empire to criticize—sometimes subtly, sometimes not—Brazil's subsequent republican or dictatorial regimes."