If a secret history of books could be written, and the authors private thoughts and meanings noted down alongside of his story, how many insipid volumes would become interesting, and dull tales excite the reader! – William Makepeace Thackeray

Our historic imagination is at best slightly developed. We generalise and idealise the past egregiously. We set up little toys to stand as symbols for centuries and the complicated lives of countless individuals. – John Dewey, Characters and Events