Christopher Hibbert, 84, Lively Historian, Dies
Christopher Hibbert, whose stylishly written, fast-paced histories and biographies embraced subjects as varied as King George IV, the French Revolution, the emperors of China and the city of Rome, died on Dec. 21 in Henley-on-Thames, England. He was 84 and lived in Henley-on-Thames.
The cause was bronchial pneumonia, said his daughter Kate Hibbert.
Although sometimes regarded askance by academic historians, Mr. Hibbert won a wide readership with his popular approach to historical subjects and his gift for narrative, on display in more than 60 books. He was a painstaking researcher but incurably readable, and critics often noted that his histories of, say, the Battle of Agincourt or the European Grand Tour had all the qualities of a good novel.
“The main aim is to entertain and tell a good accurate story without attempting to make historical discoveries or change historical opinion in any way,” he told The Sunday Times of London in 1990. “You’ve got to make the reader want to know what’s going to happen next, even if you’re writing about something the outcome of which is well known.”...
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The cause was bronchial pneumonia, said his daughter Kate Hibbert.
Although sometimes regarded askance by academic historians, Mr. Hibbert won a wide readership with his popular approach to historical subjects and his gift for narrative, on display in more than 60 books. He was a painstaking researcher but incurably readable, and critics often noted that his histories of, say, the Battle of Agincourt or the European Grand Tour had all the qualities of a good novel.
“The main aim is to entertain and tell a good accurate story without attempting to make historical discoveries or change historical opinion in any way,” he told The Sunday Times of London in 1990. “You’ve got to make the reader want to know what’s going to happen next, even if you’re writing about something the outcome of which is well known.”...