Interview

‘History doesn’t teach any lessons – only historians do.’

We ask 20 questions of leading historians on why their research matters, one book everyone should read and their views on historical drama …

‘Timing is everything.’

‘Classics is the playing field for some very important questions.’

 ‘Human nature always remains the same.’

‘Struggles matter in and of themselves.’

‘I’d like to meet the 16th-century Leo Africanus’

‘History unfolds in discernible but unpredictable patterns.’

‘As we grow older, we often learn that we have misunderstood our parents and grandparents.’ 

‘The past has not gone.’