Volume 46 Issue 4 April 1996

Sue Corbett takes a look at the reality of The Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds.

Commissioning a Mexican Communist to hymn the achievements of Henry Ford’s mass-production in 1930s Detroit was always likely to be an intriguing project.

Walter Vandereycken and Ron van Deth chart the life of an unhappy empress, from her eating disorders to extra-marital affairs.

Anne Laurence takes a look at a history course which compares the cultures of 17th century Britain and France.

Richard Cavendish explores the Gershom Parkington collection of Time Measurement Instruments.

Richard Wilkinson reassesses the much-maligned prelate, asking whether the man who steered France through the minority of Louis XIV deserves such as bad press.

As Luang Prabang, Laos' former royal capital of South East Asia becomes the latest addition to UNESCO world heritage sites, Cherry Barnett explores its significance.

Steven Gunn explores the surprising similarities between the impetuous Valois duke and the cautious Tudor pragmatist.

Richard Evans looks at the social and intellectual pressures that forced Germany to rethink how and why it punished wrongdoers.