Niall Ferguson, currently teaching at Harvard University, is said to have inspired the character of Irwin, the history teacher/coach. A Guardian UK article, published in April 2011, describes Ferguson:
“The Glaswegian-born academic and presenter, 46, has been sending the left into fits of rage ever since he published Empire in 2003 – an elaborate cost-benefit analysis of the British empire, which concluded that it had, on the whole, been a good thing. The character of Irwin in Alan Bennett’s play, The History Boys – a pushy, contrarian teacher who becomes a TV historian – is modeled on Ferguson, and ideological sparring matches with his leftwing critics, one of whom branded his work “startlingly obscene”, have become something of a national sport.”
Read the full article about Niall Ferguson here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/11/niall-ferguson-political-debate-england-america
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