The Prophecies of Merlin
As told by one medieval chronicler, Britain’s past and future had been prophesied by Merlin, who foresaw its rise, fall and conquest. Did the magician have warnings for the present?
Literature
Life and Land in Anglo-Saxon England
The Anglo-Saxons knew that life – and land – is precarious, which makes its gifts precious.
‘Shakespeare’s Sisters’ by Ramie Targoff review
Shakespeare’s Sisters: Four Women Who Wrote the Renaissance by Ramie Targoff refutes the claim by Virginia Woolf, that the women of Tudor England left only empty bookshelves.
Was the Trojan Horse Real?
Did the Greeks really trick their way into Troy inside a gigantic wooden horse?
‘Reading It Wrong’ by Abigail Williams review
Reading It Wrong: An Alternative History of Early Eighteenth-Century Literature by Abigail Williams argues that misunderstanding popular literature was a sign of its success.
The Rise and Fall of Mein Kampf
Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf was an unexpected bestseller, whose success rose and fell with its author.
Jane Eyre Goes to the Theatre
When it arrived on the Victorian stage, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre had a cast of new characters and a new social order.
Homer and His Iliad by Robin Lane Fox review
Homer and His Iliad by Robin Lane Fox is a masterly survey of the Iliad, its majesty, its pathos and its unparalleled progression from wrath to pity.
Popularizing the Past by Nick Witham review
Popularizing the Past: Historians, Publishers, and Readers in Postwar America by Nick Witham explores the industry of popular history from Daniel Boorstin to Howard Zinn.
Writing Wrongs
The anti-Russian poetry of Frances Browne, the ‘Blind Poetess of Ulster’.