Historian of Foreign Policy

Abstract

The foundations for Taylor’s writing of diplomatic history were established in his first scholarly book, The Italian Problem in European Diplomacy, in 1934. The theme was the impact of diplomacy upon the European balance of power, and the style was ‘technically old fashioned, straight political narrative’, objective, detached, detailed, and without ‘behavioural sauce’.¹ The study was sharp, ironic, and humorous as it concentrated on the thoughts and interactions of diplomats, statesmen and others — the human side of diplomacy. Taylor told a good story emphasising the drama of events, and he asserted that the accidental shared space with the deterministic, in explaining history. The Italian Problem in European Diplomacy was a viable beginning for what would come to be regarded widely as ‘vintage Taylor’.