 |
"How
to write History that people want to read"
Ann
Curthoys, Ann McGrath
263 pp., UNSW Press, Sydney, 2009
ISBN 978 1 74223 086 3 |
Available from HTANSW:
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Aimed
at a wide audience, from family historians to PhD students,
this book is as much about ‘how to’ research
as ‘how to’ write history. Moreover, because
there is a good deal of discussion around issues raised
by the research and writing of history, it is also about
historiography at a general and quite accessible level.
The
authors provide a very useful overview of what is involved
in planning a project, making the best use of a variety
of sources and negotiating libraries and archives. What
is emphasised is the interrelationship between research
and writing: ‘Research and writing are not strictly
separate processes … Through writing, we usually
process what we have discovered in the archives …
Only in the writing do we realise, very often, just what
our argument is …’ In other words, write early!
Chapters
on the actual writing process address a range of topics
that are relevant to writing at all levels, such as dealing
with writer’s block, editing and footnoting. Most
interesting, given that this is a manual on how to write
history, is the focus on narrative structure and writing
style. Encouragingly, Curthoys and McGrath suggest that
history writing should be interesting. Hence, there are
suggestions about borrowing from the techniques of fiction
writers. However, this leads to the caution that all history
writing must remain source based because it is not fiction.
This is a concise and definite answer to the question
posed by Is History Fiction?, a recent book by Ann Curthoys
and John Docker. In acknowledging this, Curthoys and McGrath
present a brief discussion dealing with issues such as
narrative structure and authorial voice in history writing.
It is a very useful distillation for those of us who may
struggle with the longer versions offered by the likes
of Michel Foucault and Hayden White.
Curthoys
and McGrath offer some reassuringly traditional views
on the merits of chronological organisation, use of the
active voice in writing and the significance of plot and
character. There is also some interesting advice on the
acknowledgement of different perspectives and the use
of multiple voices:
Written histories that simply juxtapose different accounts
have their limitations … History writers and producers
primarily seek to make sense of the past – so alongside
the recognition of the ‘point of view’ and
the incompatibility of different viewpoints, it is important
to recognise the reader’s ‘desire for the
truth’: … You need to decide what you think
happened, and why, and convey that decision to the reader
… you need to present a strong authorial voice.
This
book provides a very useful introduction to the researching
and writing of history. It is particularly recommended
to teachers and students of Extension History.
Paul
Kiem, HTA
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