This week, ending in January 25 2018:
Today's thread is for open discussion of:
History in the academy
Historiographical disputes, debates and rivalries
Implications of historical theory both abstractly and in application
Philosophy of history
And so on
Regular participants in the Thursday threads should just keep doing what they've been doing; newcomers should take notice that this thread is meant for open discussion only of matters like those above, not just anything you like -- we'll have a thread on Friday for that, as usual.
In his Atlantic Escorts, when discussing living conditions aboard the ships in question, D K Brown makes the comment "It is strange that the two best books dealing with living are both described as ‘fiction’". The books in question are Nicholas Monsarrat's The Cruel Sea and J P W Mallalieu's Very Ordinary Seaman, both written at the time, by authors who experienced the conditions they describe in their books, with both being serving naval officers; however, they are clearly works of fiction, and depict fictionalised events. How do professional historians use similar works of fiction as sources?