The Roman Catholic War on Wigs
The Catholic Church’s ban on wigs in the 18th century was as revealing of attitudes towards disability as vanity and sanctity.
History Today
The Fisk Jubilee Singers Across the Atlantic
In 1874 a choir of African American singers concluded a successful tour of Britain, singing songs that confronted American racism. Victorian audiences had never heard music like it.
The Fight for Mary, Queen of Scots’ Jewels
Who should claim Scotland’s royal jewels? After the forced abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots, the answer was not clear cut.
‘After the Flying Saucers Came’, ‘Think to New Worlds’ and ‘How to Think Impossibly’ review
Recent books by Greg Eghigian, Joshua Blu Buhs and Jeffrey J. Kripal demonstrate the challenges that historians face in making sense of Fortean times.
The French Resistance: Fantasy and Failure
The French Resistance sought liberation above all else. But what should the postwar nation look like? The question was as old as the Fall of France itself.
Free French Bombers Over France
What happened to the French airmen in the Second World War who bombed France to help liberate it?
The Last Testaments of Richard II and Henry IV
Tyrant and usurper: the last wills of Richard II and Henry IV give rare insight into the medieval monarchs who wore the crown.
The Great Fire of Smyrna
As the Ottoman Empire crumbled, the Greek and Armenian quarters of Smyrna were set ablaze on 13 September 1922 by the vengeful Turkish army.
Aliens and the Enlightenment
In the 18th century the existence of extraterrestrial life went from debatable hypothesis to fundamental tenet of Enlightenment thought.
‘Straight Acting’ by Will Tosh review
Bard romance? Straight Acting: The Many Queer Lives of William Shakespeare by Will Tosh sets the stage for the next wave of accessible queer histories.