Thick Stories – an Historian Taking Personal Stories Seriously

Abstract

Accounts of events, whether reportage, history or myth, are inseparable from the stories of those giving the account. This paper will look at the relationship between personal stories, journalism and history, suggesting that only an approach that includes individual stories, prosopographical detail and objective data can provide the “thick” retelling of events necessary to give a satisfactory account of events described, remembered or imagined. The argument will be illustrated by reference to three historical figures: John Henry Newman, Charles De Gaulle and António Salazar.