In 1215 King John had agreed to the terms of Magna Carta, but then reneged on his word, plunging the kingdom into war. Rebellious barons offered the throne to the French prince, Louis, and set off a chain of events that almost changed the course of English history. Louis arrived in May 1216, was proclaimed […]
King Harold Godwinson’s death – did the Bayeux Tapestry embroider the truth?
When the Bayeux Tapestry comes to the British Museum next year it’ll be easier for many of us to see for ourselves the moment that changed English history for ever: Harold Godwinson shot in the eye at the Battle of Hastings. But, says Paul Bernardi, that may not be what happened on 14 October, 1066. […]
Blitz Kids: celebrating the 80th anniversary of VE Day
On 8 May, 2025, it’s the 80th anniversary of VE Day. To mark the day, Duncan Barrett remembers the stories of the Blitz Kids, told to him by eyewitnesses who, as children, lived through the bombing of Britain’s cities during the Second World War. It’s 2012 and my partner Nuala and I are in the […]
The War of 1812: unexpectedly relevant
When Tom Williams decided to send his soldier/spy James Burke to North America for his next book, he wondered how European readers would respond to a rather obscure war that took place across the Atlantic while Napoleon was capturing most people’s attention. But as he was writing Burke and the War of 1812, that conflict […]
Shame and the Ancient Greek hero
Sulky, brutal Achilles; vain, passive Helen. Have we misjudged these characters from the stories of the Trojan War? Susan C Wilson, author of Helen’s Judgement, argues that we need to go back to the Iliad to understand them, and appreciate the importance of the concept of shame, which drove the Ancient Greek heroes and heroines. […]
Licensed brothels in France during the First World War
Alec Marsh writes about the licensed brothels used by British troops in France during the First World War. They’re part of the background to his new novel, Cut and Run. One of the surprising and little known things about the Great War was the involvement, to a degree at least, of the British state in […]
Christian versus pagan: was Charlemagne’s conquest of Saxony the first crusade?
Angus Donald, author of Blood of the Bear, examines Charlemagne’s conquest of Saxony in the late 8th century. It was a campaign not just about territory but about religion: Christian versus pagan. Could it be considered the first ‘crusade’? The First Crusade, historians claim, was launched by Pope Urban II in 1096, after the Pontiff […]
The liberation of Naples in 1943 – and its dire consequences
When the Allies liberated Naples in 1943 they though it would be a paradise, Keith Lowe writes. But for the devastated city, there were dire consequences, in part caused by the liberators. Naples is a city of dreams. When the Allies first arrived here at the end of 1943, they came with romantic notions of […]