One thing I will say, as a historian, is that Rubenhold's habit of saying “it must have been…” or “we can suppose that…” for historical figures is *extremely* common. I'm almost tempted to say that it is simply the convention of the field, but I suppose that is overstating the matter: I think that there must be (see what I did there?) historians who don't use them, and I simply haven't noticed. But I *have* seen it in a great many books by very eminent historians. I can see why you'd think it was a bad practice, but the truth of the matter is that there are often things that do SEEM to be true, but that we don't actually know. (Maybe Derrick's not being a rapist fits in this category.) I would submit that we actually use reasoning like "it must have been" in common parlance, too. (I would say, e.g., that Elon Musk must know that his reputation has suffered greatly since buying twitter, although I have no evidence for that.) So I myself think it is totally defensible and a reasonable practice (one is, after all, flagging the speculative status of the claims!). But at the very least, if it is a bad habit, it is one not of Rubenhold, but of historians more broadly (if not of humans more broadly).
>Derrick was ugly and often broke, but women loved him. His friends were baffled, but the reason is pretty obvious to a modern reader. He was charming, chivalrous, and unfailingly sweet.
This gives the modern readers I know a bit too much credit.
This is terrific.
One thing I will say, as a historian, is that Rubenhold's habit of saying “it must have been…” or “we can suppose that…” for historical figures is *extremely* common. I'm almost tempted to say that it is simply the convention of the field, but I suppose that is overstating the matter: I think that there must be (see what I did there?) historians who don't use them, and I simply haven't noticed. But I *have* seen it in a great many books by very eminent historians. I can see why you'd think it was a bad practice, but the truth of the matter is that there are often things that do SEEM to be true, but that we don't actually know. (Maybe Derrick's not being a rapist fits in this category.) I would submit that we actually use reasoning like "it must have been" in common parlance, too. (I would say, e.g., that Elon Musk must know that his reputation has suffered greatly since buying twitter, although I have no evidence for that.) So I myself think it is totally defensible and a reasonable practice (one is, after all, flagging the speculative status of the claims!). But at the very least, if it is a bad habit, it is one not of Rubenhold, but of historians more broadly (if not of humans more broadly).
>Derrick was ugly and often broke, but women loved him. His friends were baffled, but the reason is pretty obvious to a modern reader. He was charming, chivalrous, and unfailingly sweet.
This gives the modern readers I know a bit too much credit.
Read this out loud to my girlfriend; she was laughing the entire time.
What a ride. Samuel Derrick. Really grabbed life by the horns.
Excellent.
Was prostitution... Legal? How did police or courts come into these stories?
ok this is fantastic thank you so much