History Today

The Price of Victory: A Naval History of Britain: 1815-1945 by N.A.M. Rodger looks above decks for the story of the modern Royal Navy.

In Augustus the Strong: A Study in Artistic Greatness and Political Fiasco, Tim Blanning looks for a legacy for the ‘incorrigible Saxon’.

Political reputations are forged by actions, but the long view of history can be hard to predict.

Two rare textile discoveries connect 18th-century Barbadian schoolgirls to England.

According to some, written history began in the 14th century. It may seem ridiculous, but the Phantom Time conspiracy theory has serious implications.

The Grammar of Angels: A Search for the Magical Powers of Language by Edward Wilson-Lee finds in Giovanni Pico della Mirandola a case for the Rennaissance as a triumph not of individuality, but of universal experience.

Written into history as the ‘Mad Duchess’ of Albemarle, what brought about the downfall of Elizabeth Cavendish?

The changing climate of the Little Ice Age forced radical thinkers to reconsider humanity’s place in the universe.

In 1981, a horrific murder case required police in East Germany to go door-to-door collecting handwriting samples. There was no public outrage, because they were not told about the crime.

Man-Devil: The Mind and Times of Bernard Mandeville, the Wickedest Man in Europe by John J. Callanan revels in the making of the controversial satirist and philosopher.