Volume 73 Issue 10 October 2023

The Bruneri-Canella Case

The curious case of an apparent amnesiac in Collegno paved the way for forensic science to become one of the pillars of Italian law.

Sign entering Tombstone, Arizona mentioning the so-called Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, 1937. New York Public Library. Public Domain.

The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Becomes Legend

On 26 October 1881, three men were shot dead in Tombstone, Arizona. A survivor, Wyatt Earp, turned it into a legend.

History Today October 2023 Crossword

Fairy tales, crime-fighting monks and cities of antiquity: challenge yourself with the History Today crossword for October 2023.

Alternative Histories: Ancient Greece, 360

The latest in Rob Murray's series of Alternative History cartoons.

Amateurs playing a ghost scene by photographer W. S. Hobson, c. 1887. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Public Domain.

Four Historians Tell Us a Ghost Story

There are ghosts in the archives. Floating nuns, joy-riding cyclists and things that go bump in the night. Four historical ghost stories and their meanings.

Foyles employees use copies of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf to protect their room from possible German bombs, London, 5 September 1939. Photo by Bettmann Archive/Getty Images.

The Rise and Fall of Mein Kampf

Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf was an unexpected bestseller, whose success rose and fell with its author.

A Roma camp on the outskirts of paris by photographer Eugène Atget, c. 1913

Europe and the Roma by Klaus-Michael Bogdal review

Klaus-Michael Bogdal’s Europe and the Roma: A History of Fascination and Fear is a history of a people’s battle to tell their own story on their own terms.

Somer’s day: page from the Psalter of Henry VIII showing Henry with William Somer, by Jean Maillart (or Mallard), c.1540. Bridgeman Images.

Fool by Peter K. Andersson review

Fool: In Search of Henry VIII’s Closest Man by Peter K. Andersson is the first full length study of William Somer’s life and posthumous mythos.

A portrait of the Venerable Bede in a 14th century Germany homilary. Walters Art Museum. Public Domain.

On the Spot: Janina Ramirez

What will future generations judge us most harshly for? Failure to write on vellum.

A Mughal depiction of the Siege of Arbela in the era of Hulagu Khan, c. 1596.

Empires of the Steppes by Kenneth W. Harl review

Empires of the Steppes: The Nomadic Tribes Who Shaped Civilisation by Kenneth W. Harl is a rollercoaster of historical narration.