Difference between biography and historians

Peter Mares: In the introduction to his biography of American president Thomas Jefferson, historian Arthur Schlesinger said that one of the main purposes of biography was to remind us that 'the great public figures also put on their pants one leg at a time'.

The best biographies often provide insight into the intimate lives of important historical figures, which might help explain why biography is so popular with readers.

Some historians are uncomfortable with biography because of the way it personalises the past.

Others increasingly incorporate individual life stories into their work in an effort to make history richer and to convey not just events, but also emotions and experiences.

So how should we understand the relationship between biography and history and the role of the personal in the past?

Professor Barbara Caine is head of the School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry at the University of Sydney, and the author of se