Sorry, I can see how my phrasing might have led you to think I was making a point more comprehensive than I wanted to make. I wasn't suggesting there's no value to Marxist modes of examining history, but rather that applications of those modes in the example cited had been established to be not just wrong but agenda-driven wrong. Norwich is like discussing Barbara Tuchman on the Mediev-l list.
Historical scholarship incorporates forging new tools, breaking new ground - of course.
There's no real sense of narrative in their work. I'd describe them as the borad sweep of narrative, and the careful scrutiny of a narrow subject. I'm simply cautioning against a reflexive diminishment of other modes of treating material.