History as literature

Abstract

History comes in many forms, from the school textbook to the lengthy and detailed doctoral dissertation, the densely written article in a specialist journal, or the small local history. It can be a memoir, a biography, or an article in a newsletter. Last year, we together wrote a book intended to be of assistance to all those who want to write as well as read history. We thought of history as a form of literature, with its own particular rules and protocols. Our idea was that an understanding of the literary, as well as the scholarly, nature of history could help us all write better and more engaging history.