ROYAL The duke of duplicity

SARAH GRISTWOOD on a new profile of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson that casts them in a distinctly unflattering light

FIVE BIG QUESTIONS ABOUT...Going to church in the Middle Ages

From social interaction to confessing your sins, Nicholas Orme reveals why the church HistoryExtra played such a central role in medieval life PODCAST INTERVIEW BY DAVID MUSGROVE

Dark forces

MARION GIBSON praises a retelling of a 17th-century witchcraft trial that never loses sight of the women at its heart, nor the social and economic factors that contributed to their plight

The (Surprisingly) Modern Middle Ages

From devastating climate change to deadly pandemics, the challenges that kept our medieval ancestors awake at night weren’t so different from those preoccupying us today, says Dan Jones

The Kings And Queens Of Hearts

Sarah Gristwood reveals how the Tudor monarchs exploited the medieval obsession with courtly love – a romantic creed inspired by the idea of valiant knights risking their lives to woo fair ladies – to further their own agendas

The end of empires

RICHARD J EVANS lauds an innovative work that re-examines the Second World War in the context of global imperial ambitions

Let's cherish this shining light of the great Bronze Age civilisations

THE TAMILS’ GLITTERING CULTURAL UNIVERSE

War between friends

CORMAC O GRADA commends an ambitious attempt to objectively examine the conflict that pitted Irish people against each other in the wake of the bloody War of Independence

Prejudice on the pitch

The racist abuse experienced by some of England’s black footballers after the team’s defeat in the Euro 2020 championship final in July thrust the issue of racism in the sport back into the spotlight. MATTHEW TAYLOR charts the causes and consequences of more than a century of discrimination

HIDDEN HISTORIES

EMMA DABIRI explores lesser-known stories from our past

INTERVIEW: HELEN CARR & SUZANNAH LIPSCOMB

A new book edited by Helen Carr and Suzannah Lipscomb marks the 60th anniversary of EH Carr's What Is History? by asking that question a new for the 21st century

How George V won the war

The First World War ushered many European monarchies to extinction. But not in Britain. Heather Jones reveals how – through canny PR and genuine compassion for the troops – the royal family emerged from the conflict stronger than ever.

Golden girls

SIAN EVANS recommends an entertaining introduction to the adventures of independently wealthy women in Britain over the past four centuries

Marriage of misery

FERN RIDDELL recommends a vivid biography of a women’s rights campaigner who shook off the shackles of married life

Redrawing the battleground

MICHAEL WOOD gives his verdict on an ambitious book that attempts to finally provide a definitive location for one of the most famous battles in Anglo-Saxon history

Class dismissed

News that some UK universities are to cut their history degrees in favour of more “vocational” courses sparked a strong online reaction. ANNA WHITELOCK charted Twitter’s response

Mary Wortley Montagu The scourge of smallpox

That humanity won its battle with smallpox is in no small part down to the resilience of a woman who pioneered inoculation in 18th-century Britain, in the teeth of tremendous resistance. JO WILLETT reveals how Mary Wortley Montagu changed the course of medical history

Best and brightest?

PETER MANDLER considers a sweeping analysis of meritocracy’s role in shaping the western world and debates the effectiveness of attempts to usher in equality

Scheming and slaughter

NIGEL JONES appraises an extensive survey of assassinations throughout history, from the blood-soaked stabbings of ancient Rome to the drone strikes of modern warfare

Traditions constitute the invisible, under-the-surface flow of history

LIVING HISTORY IN THE AMERICAS

ROME GLORIED IN CLEOPATRA'S TALE OF DECADENCE, LUST AND DEATH

Joyce Tyldesley on an Egyptian queen’s ill-fated entanglements with three Roman generals

Flying the royal nest

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s departure from the royal family is the latest in a string of shock exits from the monarchy dating back centuries. TRACY BORMAN looks to the past to consider how one can leave “the Firm” successfully – and the difficulties of life as a royal exile

Rome's Reluctant Killer

Marcus Aurelius may not have sought war, but when it came he was more than ready. Shushma Malik reveals how a man of peace became one of Rome’s greatest warrior-emperors

Walking A Dangerous Road

The recent death of Sarah Everard sparked outrage, with protests breaking out across the United Kingdom. NELL DARBY argues that women’s safety in public spaces has never been assured, with the threat of violence stalking the streets from the Victorian era to the present day

Tulsa Race Massacre

A century ago, America’s simmering racial tensions boiled over on the streets of one Oklahoma city, leaving dozens dead and hundreds more injured. Scott Ellsworth explores what remains the worst single incident of racial violence in US history – the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

Triumph and tragedy

GILES MILTON applauds a masterful new account of the Special Operations Executive and the female agents who put their lives on the line to sabotage the Nazi war machine

Empire of chains

CLARE ANDERSON embarks on a lively journey through a series of convict tales that shed new light on centuries of penal transportation across the British empire

Georg Elser Hitler's Would-Be Killer

In the latest instalment of our occasional series profiling remarkable yet unheralded characters from history, Roger Moorhouse introduces a little-known carpenter-turned-assassin whose daring attempt to kill Hitler almost succeeded

Our Dangerous Devotion To The Second World War

The west’s enduring obsession with the battle against Nazism is hampering its efforts to meet the challenges of the modern world

A Taste For Strange Meats And Husbands' Buttocks

From chewing coal to salivating over starch and shells, pregnant women in early modern England were consumed by a number of outlandish cravings. Jennifer Evans explores how doctors made sense of these bizarre – and sometimes dangerous – desires