Reviews

Mortuary Chest at Winchester Cathedral, containing the remains of six Anglo-Saxon monarchs and two bishops. Amanda Slater (CC BY-SA 2.0).

‘The Bone Chests’ by Cat Jarman review

The Bone Chests: Unlocking the Secrets of the Anglo-Saxons by Cat Jarman is an enthusiastic guide through England’s early medieval past.

‘The Courtship of Anne Boleyn’ by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, c. 1846. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Public Domain.

Hunting the Falcon by John Guy and Julia Fox review

Hunting the Falcon: Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and the Marriage That Shook Europe by John Guy and Julia Fox is a well-told account that shies away from debate.

A nursing mother in ‘The Third Class Carriage’ by Honoré Daumier, c. 1862-64. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain.

Confinement by Jessica Cox review

Confinement: The Hidden History of Maternal Bodies in Nineteenth-Century Britain by Jessica Cox looks at the engine of the Victorian population boom: motherhood.

A Roma camp on the outskirts of paris by photographer Eugène Atget, c. 1913

Europe and the Roma by Klaus-Michael Bogdal review

Klaus-Michael Bogdal’s Europe and the Roma: A History of Fascination and Fear is a history of a people’s battle to tell their own story on their own terms.

Somer’s day: page from the Psalter of Henry VIII showing Henry with William Somer, by Jean Maillart (or Mallard), c.1540. Bridgeman Images.

Fool by Peter K. Andersson review

Fool: In Search of Henry VIII’s Closest Man by Peter K. Andersson is the first full length study of William Somer’s life and posthumous mythos.

A Mughal depiction of the Siege of Arbela in the era of Hulagu Khan, c. 1596.

Empires of the Steppes by Kenneth W. Harl review

Empires of the Steppes: The Nomadic Tribes Who Shaped Civilisation by Kenneth W. Harl is a rollercoaster of historical narration.

Musicians the Flying Pickets join a picket line at Drax Power Station, North Yorkshire, in 1984. Virgil Lucky (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Backbone of the Nation by Robert Gildea review

Backbone of the Nation: Mining Communities and the Great Strike of 1984-85 by Robert Gildea is shaped more by heartbreak than heroism.

British rock group the Rolling Stones arrive in Norway, 1965.

A Northern Wind: Britain 1962-65 by David Kynaston review

A Northern Wind: Britain 1962-65 by David Kynaston is a hyperreal account of Britain on the cusp of modernity.

A bustling Kolkata street scene from Chitpur Road, late 19th century, by Dr. Kurt Boeck. The Cleveland Museum of Art. Public Domain.

Shadows at Noon by Joya Chatterji review

Shadows at Noon: The South Asian Twentieth Century by Joya Chatterji is a gently revisionist account of an enduring, if ever-tottering, democracy.

Photogravure plate after painting by Neuville, 1882; group of 8 French soldiers relaxing in building yard during the Franco-Prussian War, one playing piano.

Bismarck’s War by Rachel Chrastil review

Bismarck’s War: The Franco-Prussian War and the Making of Modern Europe by Rachel Chrastil argues that German victory was a catastrophe for Germany and the world.