--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Delving into history is not an escape for…" description: "\"Delving into history is not an escape for me. I'm like a detective, sniffing for clues with a terrier-like excitement.\" — David Starkey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/399/david-starkey-4242_detective_delving-into-history-is-not-an-escape-fo_1323252.png" --- # Delving into history is not an escape for me. I'm like a… ![“Delving into history is not an escape for me. I'm like a detective, sniffing for clues with a terrier-like excitement.” quote by David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/399/david-starkey-4242_detective_delving-into-history-is-not-an-escape-fo_1323252.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/399/david-starkey-4242_detective_delving-into-history-is-not-an-escape-fo_1323252.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/399/david-starkey-4242_detective_delving-into-history-is-not-an-escape-fo_1323252.png) > “Delving into history is not an escape for me. I'm like a detective, sniffing for clues with a terrier-like excitement.” [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History is a detective’s pursuit, seeking clues with excitement. **In simple terms:** History is a thrilling investigation. Key Takeaway Approach history like a detective. Themes history curiosity investigation Mood enthusiastic inquisitive Type motivational reflective When to use this quote - research - education - writing Key Concepts detective mindset analytical excitement Questions to Reflect On - What clues have you uncovered? - How does curiosity drive learning? A Different Perspective Historical narratives can be biased. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Detective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detective/) [Escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape/) [Excitement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excitement/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ## Related quotes > [I think like a detective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/i-think-like-a-detective/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [If you think about it, the historian's task is like that of the detective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-herbert-donald/if-you-think-about-it-the-historian-s-task-is-like-that-of-the/) [David Herbert Donald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-herbert-donald/) > [“I'd like to give these detective story writers a course of routine work. They'd soon learn how most things are untraceable and nobody ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/i-d-like-to-give-these-detective-story-writers-a-course-of-routine/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [It's no secret - I love detective fiction. One of the reasons I love being in London is because I like to watch all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/it-s-no-secret-i-love-detective-fiction-one-of-the-reasons-i-love/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“Be like a detective. See what’s going on around you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-hochberg/be-like-a-detective-see-what-s-going-on-around-you/) [Art Hochberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-hochberg/) > [What kind of Dv would it take to escape history, to escape an inertia that powerful, and carve a new course? The hardest part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley/what-kind-of-dv-would-it-take-to-escape-history-to-escape-an-inertia/) [Kim Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley/) > [“What you call the history of mankind is the history of my escape plan. I don’t want ‘love.’ I don’t want forgiveness. All I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/what-you-call-the-history-of-mankind-is-the-history-of-my-escape-plan/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [You can't ignore history; you can't escape it even if you want to. 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When my friends decided to be Vampyres it was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abramelin-keldor/when-i-saw-the-twilight-movies-i-thought-being-a-vampyre-was-so/) [Abramelin Keldor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abramelin-keldor/) ## More by David Starkey > [I enjoy cooking, but stick to modern dishes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/i-enjoy-cooking-but-stick-to-modern-dishes/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [Only bad teachers lecture at a tutorial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/only-bad-teachers-lecture-at-a-tutorial/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [I was born in a council house, my father left school at the age of 11, had his teeth out without anaesthetic at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/i-was-born-in-a-council-house-my-father-left-school-at-the-age-of-11/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [I was a complete and typical only child. I was bookish, and sport was out of the question anyway. I had read all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/i-was-a-complete-and-typical-only-child-i-was-bookish-and-sport-was/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [I hate niceness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/i-hate-niceness/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [Compare the scale and magnifcence of Versailles with St James's - the brick-built hovel in which the 18th-century kings of England lived. 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It is beginning with a conclusion. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/what-black-lives-matter-is-doing-is-a-deliberate-inversion-of-the/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) [Explore all 114 David Starkey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) ## More Detective quotes > [“When I saw the Twilight movies I thought being a Vampyre was so romantic. When my friends decided to be Vampyres it was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abramelin-keldor/when-i-saw-the-twilight-movies-i-thought-being-a-vampyre-was-so/) [Abramelin Keldor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abramelin-keldor/) > [The general public have a warped view of the speed at which an investigation proceeds. 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And it was true, considering tide, current, and the habits of marine scavengers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/detective-i-don-t-know-where-the-boyfriend-is-really-i-said-and-it/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [What the detective story is about is not murder but the restoration of order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james/what-the-detective-story-is-about-is-not-murder-but-the-restoration/) [P. D. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-d-james/) > [Sure, I'll have characters drop in and out of books but the main cast of characters always changes. Maybe I'm wrong but I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-hiaasen/sure-i-ll-have-characters-drop-in-and-out-of-books-but-the-main-cast/) [Carl Hiaasen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-hiaasen/) > [Johannes Cabal would kill me for saying this, but he's my favorite Zeppelin-hopping detective. The fellow has got all the charm of Bond and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/johannes-cabal-would-kill-me-for-saying-this-but-he-s-my-favorite/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [“My motto? Don’t trust someone who is just as cagey as yourself." "What kind of detective are you?” “A lousy one and proud of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-a-edelheit/my-motto-don-t-trust-someone-who-is-just-as-cagey-as-yourself-what/) Peggy A. Edelheit > [“...you cannot enter into an investigation with a philosophy that dictates the outcome. Objectivity is paramount; this is the first principle of detective work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-cannot-enter-into-an-investigation-with-a-philosophy-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If I'm home with no chore at hand, and a package of books has come, the television set and the chess board and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/if-i-m-home-with-no-chore-at-hand-and-a-package-of-books-has-come-the/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [I like the idea of playing a historical detective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-mendes/i-like-the-idea-of-playing-a-historical-detective/) [Eva Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-mendes/) > [You find when you're writing a detective story that you're actually not trying to solve anything. You're trying to stop the reader from solving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bollen/you-find-when-you-re-writing-a-detective-story-that-you-re-actually/) [Christopher Bollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bollen/) [Browse all 482 Detective quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detective/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Delving into history is not an escape for me. 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