Penelope Corfield regrets the absence of grand narratives in the field of history. However, such books were certainly published within living memory.
I recall Arnold Toynbee's A Study of History as one of the most exciting works that I have ever read in any domain of study.
Not only did it provide a meta-perspective to the sweep of history but it offered novel insights on the human condition.
Hugh McCredie
Balsall Common, West Midlands