History Today

Books of the Year 2023

Revolutions and rubles, godlings and fascist symbols, Shakespeare and silk: ten historians choose their favourite new history books of 2023.

First World War munitions workers amid rows of artillery shells at the National Filling Factory in Chilwell, Nottinghamshire, 1917. CBW/Alamy Stock Photo.

First World War: The Fight on the Home Front

Soldiers on the front line in France and Flanders saw their fight as the only legitimate one. But in Britain, the mobilisation of the domestic workforce was integral to winning the First World War.

Angels are cast into the mouth of Hell, 20th-century illustration of the Cædmon Manuscript, 10th century. Lebrecht Authors/Bridgeman Images.

Archbishop Wulfstan: England’s Forgotten Lawmaker

As Anglo-Saxon England faced conquests and apocalypse, Archbishop Wulfstan saw hope for the kingdom in a radical restructuring of society.

The ‘Boston Tea Party’, 16 December 1773, 18th-century woodcut. incamerastock/Alamy Stock Photo.

The 50 Years that Made America

Fifty years separate the Boston Tea Party and the Monroe Doctrine. How did a group of British colonies become a self-proclaimed protector of continents within half a century?

A statue of Zumbi dos Palmares, in Alagoas, Brazil. Photograph by Gorivero (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Zambi of Palmares is Beheaded

On 20 November 1695, Zambi of Palmares – ruler of an ‘invincible’ community of former slaves in the Brazilian jungle – was killed by the Portuguese.

Bronze juror’s identification ticket, Greek, fourth century BC. Rogers Fund, 1907, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Power and Populism in Ancient Greek Courts

In ancient Greece the ‘least dangerous’ branch of government – the courts – wielded serious political power.

Saint Edmund of Abingdon bringing about the reconciliation of Gilbert Marshal and Henry III, from Matthew Paris’ Historia Anglorum, 1250s. © British Library Board/Bridgeman Images.

Edmund of Abingdon’s Dream Job

How a vision led Edmund of Abingdon to elevate the role of Medieval teacher to saintly levels.

Throwing shade: Camille Desmoulins speaks at the Palais-Royal on 12 July 1789, two days before the taking of the Bastille, by Jean-Louis Prieur, c.1790. Alamy Stock Photo.

‘The Revolutionary Temper’ by Robert Darnton review

The Revolutionary Temper: Paris, 1748-1789 by Robert Darnton is a sweeping account of events from the Parisian perspective, from disastrous wars to fights for religious toleration.

The London Necropolis Railway station at Westminster Bridge Road from Living London Vol. III by George Sims, 1903. Public Domain.

London Necropolis Railway Opens

On 13 November 1854, the Victorians combined their love of heavy industry and heavy mourning, with the opening of the London Necropolis Railway.

Cesar Chavez on march from with the United Farm Workers in Redondo Beach, California, 9 July 1975. The Regents of the University of California (CC BY-4.0).

‘Eli and the Octopus’ by Matt García review

Eli and the Octopus: The CEO Who Tried to Reform One of the World’s Most Notorious Corporations by Matt García is a human story amid mergers, sales, profits and losses.