The Practice of History by G.R. Elton
Published 1967 · 88,000 words · about 7 hours at an average pace · Essays & Criticism
How hard is The Practice of History to read?
The Practice of History scores 51 out of 100 for difficulty on ReadingRate, making it quite demanding. The score is a weighted composite of nine measures: four of how hard the prose is to parse, five of how hard the meaning is to extract.
- Vocabulary: 55 out of 100
- Academic but plain prose aimed at graduate students and practicing historians.
- Sentence structure: 53 out of 100
- Abstraction: 68 out of 100
- Methodological claims are grounded in archival and research experience.
- Information density: 73 out of 100
- Compact argument covering research, writing, and the historian's obligations.
- Narrative indirection: 12 out of 100
- Elton argues combatively and directly throughout.
- Symbolic density: 100 out of 100
- Analytical prose without figurative elaboration.
- Ironic distance: 16 out of 100
- Sharp wit deployed against social scientists and philosophical skeptics.
- Resolution withholding: 100 out of 100
- Elton takes clear positions on every methodological question.
- Structural complexity: 30 out of 100
- Linear argument across research, teaching, and writing chapters.
How The Practice of History is regarded
The Practice of History holds a literary regard score of 79 out of 100, weighing its place in the canon, its critical reception, its influence on other writers, and the standing of its author. Regard is measured separately from difficulty: a demanding book is not necessarily an admired one.