Cirrus@Austlit

'... historians face a number of dilemmas, not least of which is the emerging historical authority in the public domain of writers of fiction ... While historians bicker over ultimately irreconcilable positions, fiction steps in to offer historical understanding and empathy.' Mark McKenna addresses 'the problems involved in writing history for a broader audience. In particular he [examines] such issues as the role of the personal voice in the writing of history, the need for narrative experimentation and the obligation to retain historical integrity in the face of commerical imperatives.' (Humanities Writing Project advertising blurb)