The French Revolution's Angel of Death
Young, idealistic and prone to violence, Louis-Antoine de Saint-Just embodied the spirit of the French Revolution. He was devoured by the Terror he helped unleash.
Volume 65 Issue 1 January 2015
The Medieval Invention of Fiction
What goes on in other people’s minds? The idea of writing about what we can never know – the interior lives of others – was born in the fertile hybrid culture of 12th-century England and made possible by the pursuit of romantic love.
Women on the Frontline
The appalling treatment of women and girls by the soldiers of Islamic State and other jihadist groups raises troubling questions about the historical relationship between military conflict and sexual violence.
Northern Glam
The beginnings of fashion are often traced to the courts and cities of medieval southern Europe. Should we be looking further north?
Emma, Lady Hamilton dies in Calais
The mistress of Lord Nelson died on January 15th, 1815.
John Biddle baptised
The father of Unitarianism in England was baptised on January 14th, 1615.
The penny post is delivered
Mail reform came to Britain on January 10th, 1840.
England Through Camden’s Eyes
While we return again and again to the proto-historians of the classical world, we neglect those pioneering figures closer to us in space and time. Why is this, wonders Mathew Lyons?
Churchill: Of Words and Deeds
Fifty years on from Winston Churchill’s death, Chris Wrigley surveys the literature available, highlighting key works and lesser-known titles.
King John: Damned by his Peers
Attempts to rehabilitate ‘Bad’ King John always come up against a major stumbling block: the verdicts of his contemporaries.