TALKING POINTS The write stuff

An inspiring conversation unfolded on Twitter after Chris Millard (@chrismillard83) asked: “In your humble opinions, which historian is the best, most stylish, or most lucid writer?”

There were many suggestions, some more familiar than others. Among the discoveries for me was, who Alexander Schmidt (@alexchalkeus) believes “rewards those who made the painful effort to learn academic German with an exceptionally elegant prose”. Susan D Amussen (@susandamussen), and many others, suggested one of my all-time favourites: the Canadian-American early modern specialist . As Sharon Strocchia (@SharonStrocchia) put it: “I use her essays to teach prose writing. Impeccable topic sentences, brilliant paragraph structure, human warmth and voice. Plus she’s a master of the lost art of the essay.”