On the Spot: Averil Cameron
We ask 20 questions of leading historians on why their research matters, one book everyone should read and their views on the Tudors …
Why are you a historian of Byzantium?
I grew into it from ancient history and Late Antiquity. I always want to move on to something new.
What’s the most important lesson history has taught you?
That we need to understand the past if we want to understand the present, but also that over-simplified parallels between past and present do not work.
Which history book has had the greatest influence on you?
Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall.
What book in your field should everyone read?
The same. You don’t have to agree with Gibbon to admire him and find him a wonderful read.
Which moment would you most like to go back to?
No period was as comfortable as now. I would have hated the cold and draughts and not having access to tea and coffee.
Which historian has had the greatest influence on you?
Arnaldo Momigliano.
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