How well does bestselling historical fiction transfer to the TV screen? James Burge reviews Apple TV’s adaptation of Lessons in Chemistry and finds it “well-crafted, effective and intelligent”. Films and novels are very different things. Broadly speaking, a novel consists of dialogue, descriptions of action and the inner world of characters, and narration. When it […]
Review: Nero: the man behind the myth
We’ve had more than a year without major exhibitions to visit. But the British Museum has returned with one of its blockbusters: a treasure-filled and challenging exploration of the Emperor Nero. Best-selling author Simon (SJA) Turney, who knows a thing or two about the Roman Empire, reviews it for Historia and finds it one of […]
Review: Fortress of Fury by Matthew Harffy
Edoardo Albert reviews Fortress of Fury, the latest book in Matthew Harffy’s much-loved Bernicia Chronicles series set in the turbulent world of seventh-century England. The many readers who have accompanied Matthew Harffy’s seventh-century warrior hero, Beobrand, through his adventures in the previous six books in the series will be expecting taut adventure, bloody and brutal […]
Summer reading for history lovers in 2020
Whatever this unusual summer may bring us, a good book can be an uplifting delight – or a comfort during difficult times. Historia has asked nine historical writers to suggest a new or recent book that has excited them as well as an old favourite to return to. Enjoy their summer reading recommendations! Nicola Cornick […]
Review: Charles I: Downfall of a King
Charles I: Downfall of a King (BBC Four, 9 July, 2019) reviewed by James Burge for Historia magazine
Review: Storm of Steel by Matthew Harffy
It’s been an exciting few days for readers of Matthew Harffy’s Bernicia Chronicles, his series set in 7th-century Britain. The fourth book, Killer of Kings, came out in paperback on 2 May, 2019, the same day that its sequel, Warrior of Woden, was published. A week later, Beobrand returns in a “stunning new instalment”, Storm […]
Review: The Favourite
If the release of a new period drama isn’t accompanied by a debate about its historical accuracy, is it even a period drama?
The bones of Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite are entirely factual – Queen Anne really did have a female ‘favourite’, Sarah Churchill, Lady Marlborough
Review: Les Miserables
Everything about Les Miserables is built on an epic scale. At around 1500 pages, depending on which edition is making your bookshelf sag, Victor Hugo’s novel (published in 1862) is not only physically enormous, but also it deals with MASSIVE themes: love, obsession, redemption, justice, fate and the nature of good and evil. It’s human […]