Cultural

The art of India is a vital cultural expression of India. As Partha Mitter explains, it is intertwined with assertions of nationalism, the equation of modernisation and westernisation, and a desire to preserve the cultural heritage of India.

The British had been trading in India since 1600. As R.W. Lightbown, it was not, however, until the late eighteenth century that British interest in Indian culture burgeoned and was carried home by the traveller.

 Essays presented to Richard William Southern - Edited by R.H.C. Davis & J.M. Wallace-Hadrill, with the assistance of R.J.A.I. Catto & M.H. Keen

In this article Thomas Maxwell, one of the organisers of the exhibition and co-author of the catalogue, In the Image of Man: The Indian perception of the Universe through 2,000 years of painting and sculpture (An Arts Council publication in conjunction with Weidenfeld and Nicolson) explains the background to the exhibition.

Margaret Spufford examines popular fiction in 17th-century England.

There is evidence, argues Adrian Tronson, to suggest that the 13th-century Mali empire, and its ruler Sundiata, were strongly influenced by the life of Alexander the Great, 356-323 BC, an influence that was to be capitalised on in the late 1950s.

Maggie Black takes a look at the seasonal celebration of All Saints and serves up a Hallowe'en recipe.

A.A. Powell on a new exhibition and publication from the British Library.

Taking the waters became a Victorian passion and spa towns flourished. In this article the first prize winner in History Today's Essay Competition Pamela Steen, a student at the Open University, describes the pleasure and the pains of this fashion.