ID Number: 200142100

HIST 101 Summative Essay

Topic: A.J.P Taylor: A Controversial Historian

‘As an historian, Taylor was constantly let down by his impulse to show off: it led him to sensationalise, and thereby to trivialise, his subject.’ Discuss

        Alan Taylor was one of the leading and arguably one of the most famous if not the most famous historian of the twentieth century. His narrative style of writing won him much praise and criticism.  He was once quoted as saying, when speaking of one of his most greatest works English History 1914 – 1945, ‘The first function of an historian was to answer the child’s question, “What happened next?”’1 In many peoples eyes he was seen as an historian of the people.          

        

        Taylor was an enormously charismatic and authoritative figure, he was fiercely articulate, intelligent and authoritative. He was widely read, it has been estimated he read over 7,100 books between 1914 and 1985,2 he had a retentive and analytical mind. He was renowned for his quickness, he gained this reputation from the many debates he took part him. However this quickness, lead many to believe he was rather superficial, he did not probe deeply enough into his subjects, which leads us to the question of whether he did trivialise his subjects through his exhibitionist nature.

In order to answer this question, one ought to look at three of Taylor’s most famous works, The Struggle for Mastery in Europe 1848 – 1918, The Origins of the Second World War and English History 1914 – 1945.

         The Struggle for Mastery in Europe 1848 – 1918, was published in October 1954.3 It was admired by an vast number of Historians, it can be seen as one of Taylor’s most substantial books. The books general theme surrounds Germany’s struggle for European dominance and the Great Powers attempts to prevent them from gaining this supremacy. The overall reviews of this book overall were very favourable. Taylor was even recommended for a Fellowship of the British Academy on the basis of his bibliography.4 The book was commended for its diplomatic content, Taylor once wrote, “I established my academic reputation instead of being merely a public entertainer.”5   Taylor here can be seen possibly to be agreeing that he has been known to sensationalise and that this has held him back in the world of academia. However Taylor is believed later to have found the book to be rather dull in spite of the books popularity.  This view however could be used to emphasise the sensationalist argument. I could possibly show that Taylor liked causing a stir, he possibly strived for the negative comments as they were what gave him the most exposure.  

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        If we look now to undoubtedly the most controversial and provocative books to be written by Taylor, was the infamous Origins of the Second World War.   According to Taylor in his autobiography, he had not intended to be at all controversial. Taylor claims that there were vested interests in the traditional version of events leading up to the Second World War. Many accused Taylor of vindicating

ID Number: 200142100

Hitler. The book is reported to have a received a strong neo Nazi following when published in Germany. However the book overall does not really focus in that ...

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