Reflection by Sarah Goldberg
As Scotland Yard inspector Alan Grant investigates the slanderous murder accusations launched against Richard III in The Daughter of Time, his inquiry into the past blends historical and detection methodology. Borrowing from his own professional background and collaborating with a historical researcher, the bedridden detective seamlessly fuses the disciplines in his rehabilitation of the maligned king. In many ways, this methodological conflation seems like a natural combination: both detectives and historians examine the past to recreate actions, illuminate patterns, uncover motives, and ultimately present a version of events. Moreover, the two disciplines rely on similar tools. Just as historians use primary source documents, detectives also build their narratives off written records from the time in question, as well as first-hand accounts from eyewitnesses. Both forms of research also require intentional source criticism, acknowledging the inherent biases of reporting. Crime scene analysis draws further parallels with the practices of historical materialism; just as a historian might draw conclusions about ancient societies from objects found in an archeological dig, detectives must look for objects as clues to a bigger picture. Detective work also faces many of the same pitfalls as historical research. As subjective investigators, the recreation of the past necessarily reflects a historian or detective’s biases. Grant’s amalgam of detective and historical research reflects the many similarities between the two disciplines.
However, while the investigator’s blending of these methods might have allowed him to uncover a centuries-old conspiracy, the process of thinking like a historian and thinking like a detective is hardly interchangeable. In his line of work at the Scotland Yard, Grant must use limited evidence to uncover an absolute truth, proving that his recreations of the past are the sole objective facts in a court of law. In contrast, historical research takes an infinite number of data points and seeks to generate a novel interpretation of the past. Historical narratives are inherently inadequate, and thus historians contribute to a collaborative dialogue about the recreation of the past. Arguments equally supported by evidence can diverge into conflicting perspectives, as historians work with not only primary but also secondary sources (a tool reduced to “hearsay” in the world of detective work). In historical research, complexity in cause and motive is a staple of a reasoned argument, acknowledging that human motive especially on an institutional and social scale is varied. In detection, investigators seek out simplicity and clarity, a feat far more achievable with a focus on the individual. While Investigator Grant employs some historical research techniques in his own analysis, his disgust with historian’s interpretive efforts and desire to land on a singular truth reveal his loyalty to methods of detection. While historical research and detective work both collect clues in search of a narrative of the past, the disciplines ultimately diverge in their fundamental objectives.
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