In this issue

Greek warrior women
Daisy Dunn highlights the immense impact that women had on the course of the Greco-Persian Wars.

Horror in France
Robert Pike tells the story of the killing of 643 civilians by the SS in June 1944.

The Mughal Jane Austen
Ruby Lal on a princess whose prose shines a light on 16th-century India..

"It had been a tiny triumph, but it had been a British triumph"

MAX HASTINGS talks to Rob Attar about a daring airborne raid that provided a much-needed boost to Britain's morale in the darkest days of the Second World War

10+ mins

Dancing with the Devil

ROGER MOORHOUSE is impressed by a book that traces the fortunes of the diplomats charged with managing the west's wartime alliance with Josef Stalin

4 mins

Victorian cucumber ice cream

ELEANOR BARNETT samples the delights of an unusual and refreshing version of one of the world's favourite summer treats

2 mins

Anne Boleyn, ‘princess' of France

JOANNE PAUL is impressed by an account of how the Tudor queen's continental connections shaped her meteoric rise and dramatic fall

4 mins

FIVE THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT...Roman Britain

Rob Collins, who is teaching our new HistoryExtra Academy course, shares five surprising facts about life in Britain during the Roman occupation

4 mins

War and pieces

Far from idle pursuits, games have transformed the way societies have made sense of life and death, order and conflict for centuries. Kelly Clancy picks five examples that reveal how playtime has often been a serious business

7 mins

Gulbadan Begum The Mughal Jane Austen

Gulbadan Begum was meant to live a quiet life in the confines of a Mughal harem. Instead she made her mark on history twice: first, embarking on a pioneering pilgrimage to Islam’s holy cities; second, writing a remarkable history of her dynasty. RUBY LAL tells her story

5 mins

Succession 1603

The passing of the English crown from Elizabeth I to James VI & I was welcomed by a nation hungry for change. But, writes Susan Doran, it wasn't long before tensions began to rise between the incoming king and his new subjects

9 mins

Horror in France

On the morning of 10 June 1944, the residents of Oradour-sur-Glane were going about their lives as normally as was possible in occupied France: cooking, washing, shopping, playing. Little did they know that they were about to become the victims of one of the most infamous massacres of the Second World War.

10 mins

"IT'S TIME TO WRITE WOMEN BACK INTO THESE WORLD-CHANGING ANCIENT EVENTS"

Daisy Dunn tells the story of the Greco-Persian Wars through the deeds of the extraordinary female figures who shaped them

10 mins

Britain's war on the slave ships

In the early 19th century, a Royal Navy squadron was sent to west Africa to hunt down ships carrying enslaved people to the Americas. The operation was hailed as an act of \"pure unselfish philanthropy\". Yet, writes Mary Wills, the reality was far more tangled

8 mins

The Aztecs at war

RHIANNON DAVIES discovers why war was so important to the Mesoamerican people - and why they believed a badly cooked meal could prevent a soldier from shooting straight

1 min

Towering achievement

NATHEN AMIN explores a 13th-century stronghold that was built to subdue independent-minded Welsh people, yet has since become a symbol of courage in the face of overwhelming odds

2 mins

Eighteenth-century mushroom ketchup

ELEANOR BARNETT shares her instructions for making a flavourful sauce with roots in south-east Asia

3 mins

Goodbye to the gilded age

JOHN JACOB WOOLF is won over by an exploration of the Edwardian era, which looks beyond the golden-era cliché to find a nation beset by a sense of unease

2 mins

The power of the few

Subhadra Das's first book catches two particular waves in current publishing.

2 mins

The 'badass' icon

One of the problems with biography, if an author is not careful, is that it can quickly become hagiography.

1 min

Ghosts of Germany's past

KATJA HOYER is impressed by a study of a nation's attempts to grapple with the crimes it perpetrated during the Second World War

2 mins

A window onto England's soul

SARAH FOOT has high praise for a book that traces the evolution of English Christianity over the course of 1400 years, through the lives of its greatest thinkers

4 mins

"There was a general perception that Queen Victoria's mourning was neither normal nor acceptable”

JUDITH FLANDERS talks to Rebecca Franks about her new book, which delves into the customs surrounding dying, death and mourning in Victorian Britain

10 mins

"Indigenous children were forcibly separated from their families"

HIDDEN HISTORIES... KAVITA PURI on the legacy of Canada's residential schools

3 mins

"From Africa to the Indian subcontinent, imperialism has left a trail of damage"

MICHAEL WOOD ON...THE BANGLADESH LIBERATION WAR

3 mins

ANNIVERSARIES

DANNY BIRD highlights events that took place in March in history

5 mins

"People began collapsing in the streets and dying on the pavements"

In 1943, a devastating famine claimed the lives of millions of people in the Indian province of Bengal. Kavita Puri (left) tells us why she's keen to ensure that the stories of those who endured the crisis are not forgotten

10+ mins

FIVE THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT...The Vikings

Ryan Lavelle, who is teaching our new History Extra Academy course, shares five surprising facts about the raiders, pirates and traders from medieval Scandinavia

4 mins

THE GREAT WHEELBARROW CRAZE

In 1886, the nation was gripped by a bizarre trend that saw plucky Britons racing wheelbarrows across the country. David Musgrove takes up this strange-but-true story

8 mins

Lisbon in five places

From Roman colony to imperial epicentre, Portugal's capital has played many roles. BARRY HATTON highlights five sites that reveal the city's past and present glories

3 mins

SISTERS AT WAR

By the end of her reign, Mary I's relationship with her half-sister and successor, Elizabeth, was at an all-time low. But had the Tudor siblings always been such bitter enemies? Nicola Tallis reveals how the duo's bond was both broken and strengthened by events beyond their control

9 mins

WHO SHOT JFK? WAS ELIZABETH I A MAN? DID ALIENS LAND AT ROSWELL?

Rob Attar investigates the enduring power of conspiracy theories

10 mins

THE ANCIENT WORLD'S GREATEST CITY

When Alexander the Great founded a settlement at the junction of three continents in 331 BC, he created a metropolitan powerhouse that would shape global history. Islam Issa hails the genius of ancient Alexandria

10 mins

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BBC History UK Magazine Description:

BBC History Magazine is Britain’s bestselling history magazine devoted to history enthusiasts of all levels of knowledge and interest. Published 13 times a year, BBC History Magazine brings history to life with informative, lively and entertaining features written by the world’s leading historians and journalists. Whether it is the history of our politics and institutions, or the fascinating stories of our private lives through the ages, BBC History Magazine sheds new light on the past and helps make more sense of today’s world.Covering the latest new developments in history and archaeology from Britain and around the world, the latest, most thought provoking historical research and strong links with TV and radio programming maximizing use of BBC’s existing expertise in the genre.