Historical narratives can be lawfully ‘cooked’ like balance sheets

Evidence

But even a balance-sheet, while remaining within the law, can be cooked and served in various ways, as any businessman knows. Let us look at the way in which historical records or narratives are cooked and served. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 1822

Categorization

• XREF: Foreshadows Hayden White-style arguments that history is always shaped narrative, not neutral record.