Literature

Burning Books

As the holders of both our cultural and personal memories, books seem sacred and their destruction, no matter the cause, is always shocking.

Shakespeare: the Bard Beyond Borders

Shakespeare’s approach to history and geography is often regarded as something of a joke. But his skill was in reconstructing the medieval Mediterranean for audiences whose horizons were being expanded.

Books of the Year 2015

From Aristotle to El Alamein, via the Silk Road and Charlemagne's vast empire, ten leading historians tell us about their best books from 2015.

The Past Made Flesh

Jerome de Groot muses on how authors of historical fiction try to flesh out the bare bones of history, drawing on old and new works.

Ancient Sparta in Modern Fiction

Paul Cartledge argues that all historiography can be seen as fictionalised and relishes the fact that novelists breathe new life into ancient worlds.