History Today

What has been the contribution of the Lord Chancellors to our twentieth-century heritage?

Francis Drake’s exploits in the New World made him perfect material for the English gutter press and a figurehead for rising Hispanophobia.

Bedlam was a constant in art and literature throughout the 18th century. In it, madness was otherworldly, bestial, pitiable and female – a mirror for concerns about society. 

Looking beyond the usual rogues’ gallery of historical figures can help us to better understand the past.

A comprehensive account of the life of Martin Luther, the man who split western Christendom for good.

If you believe the neologism 'post-truth' describes a new phenomenon, think again. Geoffrey Chaucer diagnosed the problem at the end of the 14th century.

Laughing at experts is nothing new. Kate Davison explores our long history of puncturing the powerful with satire and humour – to keep them in line and just for the fun of it.  

Along with Robin Hood, the romantic highwayman is one of the great myths of English outlawry. But the model for this most gallant of rogues was a Frenchman name Claude Duval, who carried out audacious robberies with a touch of Parisian flair.

Struggling to make sense of the Holocaust, one Hungarian novelist came to the startling realisation that the 20th century’s darkest moment might not yield any lessons for posterity.