The study broadens the perspective of narratology to include the objects and methods of historiography, in particular those of the famous French Annales School (rejection of history as events etc). The question is one of the extent to which historiography itself 'creates' history in its narration and of whether, given the inherent narrative character of every historiography, any progress at all can be made in historical knowledge. Rüth not only develops the theoretical backgrounds and discourses of his enquiry, but also uses texts from the Annales School to undertake a detailed study of the narrative element in historiography.