The write stuff
Social media isn’t always about discord and disagreement – as a recent discussion about the most inspiring historical writers proved. ANNA WHITELOCK considers the contenders
An inspiring conversation unfolded on Twitter after Chris Millard (@chrismillard83) asked: “In your humble opinions, which historian is the best, most stylish, or most lucid writer?”
There were many suggestions, some more familiar than others. Among the discoveries for me was the late German historian Thomas Nipperdey, who Alexander Schmidt (@alexchalkeus) believes “rewards those who made the painful effort to learn academic German with an exceptionally elegant prose”. Susan D Amussen (@susandamussen), and many others, suggested one of my all-time favourites: the Canadian-American early modern specialist Natalie Zemon Davis. As Sharon Strocchia (@SharonStrocchia) put it: “I use her essays to teach prose writing. Impeccable topic sentences, brilliant paragraph structure, human warmth and voice. Plus she’s a master of the lost art of the essay.”
Another much-cited name was social historian Carolyn Steedman. Mary Ellen Hicks (@DrMaryHicks) pointed to her “profoundly literary sensibility… I’ve never read a historian who can as effectively evoke emotions”. That was a sentiment echoed by Dave Hitchcock (@Hitchcockian), who wrote: “Carolyn Steedman has a gift.
Poetry for Historians [her latest book] is simply excellent.”
Rebecca Hutchison (@becksh78) couldn’t decide between “Adam Tooze, Tony Judt and Robin Lane Fox”. Claire L Jones (@Claire_L_Jones) tweeted:
“For lucidity, I love [historian of France] Colin Jones. I think his writing is so clear and seemingly effortless.” Andy King (@andykingsoton) suggested a number of medievalists, but concluded: “I think I’d have to give the prize to John Gillingham, who is vastly entertaining, as well as being impeccably scholarly – a neat trick!”
Nicholas Walmsley (@Hulegu) pointed to Jonathan Spence, a historian of China, “for the way he arranges and incorporates archival materials, legal documents and travellers’ accounts into novelistic structures, so that The Question of Hu reads like a novel and the Death of Woman Wang reads like a collection of short stories. Utterly brilliant.”
For Pedr Davies (@davies_pedr), Peter Hopkirk was the only choice. “His writings about central Asian history in the 19th and 20th centuries are glorious, and just bring the history to life,” he wrote. “That’s good history writing: it is not about prose or fashion, but about accentuating the story. Enjoyment and understanding are key.”
The names kept coming, but the last for now is Barbara Tuchman, the US historian and author who was dubbed “legendary” by Lucy Adlington (@historywardrobe). She pointed to Tuchman and her insightful line: “Research is endlessly seductive; writing is hard work.” On that point, I think we can certainly agree.
Good history writing is about accentuating the story. Enjoyment is key