Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: This article explores how ghostwritten works of history compromise the authenticity of authorship as a process and have a tainted historiographical utility as source material in international relations.Using the examples of Winston Churchill and John F. Kennedy we analyse how these famous politicians-cum-historians used research assistants to gather and analyse historical documentation whilst preserving their right to claim authorship of prize-winning works of history.Despite being a long-established practice in the English-speaking literary world, ghostwritten works of history have significant, yet underexplored, implications for shaping historiographical trends.Churchill, for example, was able to place himself at the centre of all events in the Second World War, whilst Kennedy shaped perceptions of how his own vision of leadership should be historically compared.Deepening our awareness of ghostwriting as process tells us something important about the relationship between politicians and the history they try and tell whilst also revealing the impact of 'collaborative history' as a method.The result is a version of events that inevitably places positionality over objectivity, demonstrating the myth-making power of ghostwritten works to impact historiography.For political leaders, inducements to write a book are hard to decline.From the ancient world to the modern, emperors and politicians can shape and manipulate the public's understanding of their tenure, improving their reputation and standing in world history whilst almost guaranteed a bestseller.Even in the contemporary publishing market -in which most first-time authors are lucky to receive an advance -relatively mediocre fare can easily outsell everything else released in the same year. 1 An appetite for insider accounts, histories, or analyses can, nevertheless, be sated.Whether pressed for time, motivation, or talent, the services of a professional 'ghostwriter' have been used by world leaders and their publishers for centuries.Such a relationship can be both immensely beneficial and quite exploitative.It can also shape our understanding of international relations through the words of someone who simply wasn't there.Napoleon Bonaparte's own memoirs were written and published by one of the most opportunistic loyalists who had volunteered to join the toppled Emperor in his final exile.With little to entertain the miserable Bonaparte on St. Helena, Emmanuel de Las Cases convinced him to detail his life story, grievances, and regrets, dutifully compiling it all in a memoir that would become a publishing sensation.2 In doing so, Las Cases created a revisionist tome of immense success, recasting Napoleon from tyrannical despot into enlightened liberator, redefining Napoleon's legacy in France and across Europe for
Source: The International History Review
Authors: Andrew Mumford, Katherine Bayford
Institution: University of Nottingham
Language: English
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4391967335