Reviews

The defeat of the caliph of Baghdad, the religious head of Sunni Islam, by the Mongols, Rashid al-Din, c. 1596. Cleveland Museum of Art. Public Domain.

‘The House Divided’ by Barnaby Rogerson review

In The House Divided: Sunni, Shia and the Making of the Middle East Barnaby Rogerson seeks geopolitical answers for ideological conflicts.

A Viking Age ship scene on the Lärbro Stora Hammars I picture stone, c. 8th-10th century. Gotlands Museum. Mike Ferguson (CC BY).

‘Age of Wolf and Wind’ by Davide Zori review

Age of Wolf and Wind: Voyages through the Viking World by Davide Zori proves that if you want to understand the Vikings, you need to rove just as far.

Massacre of Christians in Syria, French illustration, late 19th century. Universal History Archive/Getty Images.

‘The Damascus Events’ and ‘Sea of Troubles’ review

Sea of Troubles by Ian Rutledge and The Damascus Events by Eugene Rogan watch as the ‘sick man of Europe’ turns violent.

Three cats singing, by Louis Wain, c. 1925-39. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain.

‘Catland’ by Kathryn Hughes review

Catland: Feline Enchantment and the Making of the Modern World by Kathryn Hughes follows the reinvention of the cat from working animal to purrfect pet.

The Tower of London, etching by Wenceslaus Hollar, c. 1647. Rijksmuseum. Public Domain.

‘The Specter of the Archive’ by Nicholas Popper review

The Specter of the Archive: Political Practice and the Information State in Early Modern Britain by Nicholas Popper explores the Elizabethan revolution in record keeping.

Winston Churchill and his contemporaries in ‘Mr Punch’s Political March-Past’ from Punch, 2 July 1919. Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg. Public Domain.

‘Churchill’s American Network’ and ‘Mirrors of Greatness’ review

Cita Stelzer’s Churchill’s American Network and David Reynolds’ Mirrors of Greatness seek to bring Churchill’s contemporaries and adversaries out of his shadow.

An Egyptian ivory plaque showing two figures riding an elephant, c. 11th-12th century. Walters Art Museum (CC0).

‘The Emperor and the Elephant’ by Sam Ottewill-Soulsby review

The Emperor and the Elephant: Christians and Muslims in the Age of Charlemagne by Sam Ottewill-Soulsby surfaces Umayyad and Abbasid perspectives on their Frankish frenemies.

Portrait of Hannah More, by Frances Reynolds, c.1780. Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives/Bridgeman Images.

‘Bluestockings’ by Susannah Gibson review

Bluestockings: The First Women’s Movement by Susannah Gibson makes a case for 18th-century proto-feminism. Do the Bluestockings fit?

Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, line engraving by B. Reading after S. van der Passe. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain.

‘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.

Finnish soldiers stand guard during the Winter War, c. 1939-1940. Finnish Heritage Agency (CC BY 4.0).

‘How Finland Survived Stalin’ by Kimmo Rentola review

How Finland Survived Stalin: From Winter War to Cold War by Kimmo Rentola argues that political guile as much as military might stopped the Soviets in their tracks.