Today’s featured articles
The unusual circumstances of the founding of New Orleans in 1718 have had a lasting impact on its culture.
An unsolved Renaissance mystery casts light on the dark world of extortion, revenge and power politics at the heart of the Catholic Church. Was there any truth to the plot to kill Pope Leo X?
Liberté, égalité, fraternité – oranges? What does Maximilien Robespierre’s fondness for citrus fruit reveal?
Most recent
The Hidden Death in the Victorian Wallpaper
Arsenic was a hidden killer in Victorian homes, but it also played a large part in the British economy. Which comes first: commerce or public health?
The Otsu Incident
On 11 May 1891 the future Tsar Nicholas II narrowly escaped assassination on a trip to Japan.
Real Monks Cry: Masculinity in the Monastery
How did medieval holy men cope with the strictures their devotion placed upon them?
Remembering South Vietnam
With North Vietnam’s victory in 1975, its southern counterpart ceased to exist. What happened to South Vietnam?
‘Rot: A History of the Irish Famine’ by Padraic X. Scanlan review
Padraic X. Scanlan levels familiar charges against British colonialism and capitalism in Rot: A History of the Irish Famine. Is there more to the story?
Jane Austen: A Partial and Prejudiced Historian
On the 250th anniversary of her birth, Jane Austen still has lessons for readers of history.
The Merovingians: ‘Do-Nothing Kings’?
The Merovingians have a reputation for long hair and barbarity. Instead, the dynasty, born out of the chaos of civil war, was one of peace, diplomacy, and bureaucracy.
What was the Industrial Revolution?
Over the 18th and 19th centuries Britain’s economy, technology, and society were transformed by the so-called Industrial Revolution. Why?
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In the May issue:
The fall of Saigon, how Britain greeted VE Day, Renaissance sex workers, how the Roman Empire lost its gods, in defence of the Merovingians, and more.
Plus: reviews, opinion, crossword and much more!
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