Asked Juliet Gardiner in the Sunday Times yesterday. I couldn’t help feeling like channeling the spirit of Al Murray, the Pub Landlord here, ‘Yeah, mate, British historians, best in the world. Glass of wine/fruit-based drink for the lady?’
In the article, Andrew Roberts called (I assume tongue-in-cheek) for a regulatory authority to protect ‘proper historians’ from the incursions of ‘amateurs’. Forgive me if I am wrong, but isn’t Roberts an ‘amateur’ in the sense that he did not receive formal training as a professional historian? Sure, he’s got a first-class BA in history, but so have a lot of people (Al Murray for instance). Does that mean Al Murray is a proper historian?
I felt much the same about the article, though I was also disappointed that no pre-18th century history got a look in.