Author(s): Ann Curthoys and John Docker

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

ISBN: 0-472-03154-6

With a title such as Is History Fiction?, one might assume that Ann Curthoys and John Docker lay out a simple question to be answered throughout their 200-plus page work on the nature of historical writing. One might also expect to find a lengthy collection of anecdotal evidence between the book’s covers — a sort of step-by-step answer designed to sway a reader’s opinion in one direction or another. Fortunately, the writers do neither. Is History Fiction? is nothing less than a well-researched, easily-read work designed to make the reader search for his or her own opinion on the nature of historical writing. Along the way, Curthoys and Docker act perfectly as guides to lead all levels of readers along a path designed to illustrate the key points of development in historical writing and, ultimately, to lead all levels of readers to their own conclusions on historical “truth.”

Curthoys and Docker open Is History Fiction? with chapters on Herodotus and Thucydides — the “co-founders of history.” In doing so, they start both a timeline of reference as well as provide an example of polarity between the two individuals that the rest of their material largely follows. It’s within opposites that Curthoys and Docker seem to find their best material. In chapter two, for example, the authors state:

“The differences and similarities between Herodotus and Thucydides are important for the later development of history. They established possibilities and alternatives that are still with us.”

From such early comparisons, Curthoys and Docker establish a tone that characterizes their examinations in chapters to follow. What the authors do throughout each chapter, in fact, is largely cover important shifts in how history is viewed during different periods of time. For example:

“The notion of history as art and the view of history as science have jostled against one another ever since the 1820s, unresolved, often within one author.” (71)

“In the middle decades of the 20^th century, a major conflict ... was not over ‘art vs. science,’ or ‘imagination vs. objectivity,’ but over the question of Marxism.” (122)

The result of the authors’ approach is a book that is just as much an answer to “what is history?” as it is an examination of the truth behind historians and their writing. The research is sound and well documented, the writing is clear and entertaining, and the organization is such that the material can be understood by a predominantly general audience. The strictly “casual” reader, however, might want to observe a word of caution before delving into the book’s material: much of the language used is highly academic and some of the concepts touched upon require at least a basic understanding of historical events. That being said, Is History Fiction? is a wonderful addition to the collection of any individual with even the slightest interest in history.

 The above review was contributed by:  Chris Detloff. Chris is a long-time resident of Minnesota and a graduate of St. Cloud State University with a bachelor's degree in Rhetorical and Applied Writing. In addition to freelance writing and editing duties for a variety of periodicals. Chris cites Hunter S. Thompson as his favorite all-time author.

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