The brutish empire

ALEX VON TUNZELMANN considers a global investigation into the intrinsic connection between racialised violence and the history of the world's largest-ever empire

1942 CHURCHILL'S DARKEST HOUR

If 1940 was the year in which Winston Churchill's reputation was forged, 1942 was the one in which it was almost destroyed. Taylor Downing chronicles a terrible period for the prime minister - both on the battlefield and in the court of public opinion

Lodging with Mozart (and Shelley, Franklin and Byron)

It may seem strange in our home-owning obsessed times, but thousands of Georgians – from modest milliners to world-famous poets – chose renting a room over gaining a toehold on the property ladder. Gillian Williamson explains why

In Search of Unity

Richard Jevans is unconvinced by a new study that is focused on the idea of finishing the “European project” and based on the testimonies of esteemed thinkers over the centuries

The Good Fight

Diane Atkinson applauds an insightful and inspiring history of political and social action by women around the turn of the 19th century

Q&A - Who was history's most notorious pirate?

A selection of historical conundrums answered by experts

“We have believed the Normans' view of themselves for too long”

JUDITH A GREEN talks to David Musgrove about her new book, which takes readers far beyond the familiar story of 1066, and provides a richer understanding of the Normans’ complex place in the wider history of Europe

“THE WEEK THAT CHANGED THE WORLD”

Following years of icy silence between the US and China, on 21 February 1972 president Richard Nixon arrived in Beijing for an unprecedented diplomatic mission. Rana Mitter explores how the two sides viewed an encounter that augured China’s entrance onto the global stage

The secrets of the stones

Where did Stonehenge’s megaliths come from? Were they transported to Wiltshire by glacier or human hand? And how long did this Neolithic building project take? As a major exhibition on Stonehenge opens at the British Museum, Mike Pitts uses the latest research to answer the big questions about the construction of this ancient wonder

MY HISTORY HERO

Actor, comedian and BBC DJ Craig Charles chooses

A SPACE MENAGERIE

During the space race, animals pavedthe way for humans to travel beyond Earth. Stephen Walker shines a light on these largely forgotten creatures and their often fatal journeys

Alfred Fagon - A Unique Caribbean Voice

Having migrated from Jamaica as a teenager, Alfred Fagon emerged as a powerful playwright who created African-Caribbean characters to speak truths about the challenges facing black people in Britain. Stephen Bourne introduces a writer who helped transform black British theatre in the 1970s and 80s

What Makes a Greek?

Michael Scott enjoys an informed and entertaining journey through the history of Greek-speaking people, but takes issue with the framing of the book

Coded Language

Michael Wood praises a pioneering study of the transformation of Chinese script, and how this helped fuel the growth of the nation into one of the world's superpowers

A National Institution

As it approached its second decade, the BBC's happy-go-lucky attitude was fading fast. And, as David Hendy reveals in the second instalment of our 13-part series tracing the corporation's cultural impact, the government was now taking a keen interest

Battle of Wills

Mark White commends a wide-ranging investigation into the psychological dimensions of the Cold War and the crucial role fear played in shaping American and Soviet strategies

Who is Britain's greatest monarch?

This year marks the platinum jubilee of Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-serving monarch. But which of the kings and queens since 1066 made the biggest mark on history? We asked 12 experts to offer their nominations - and to explain what made each one truly great

Cursed lives

MARION GIBSON recommends an evocative deep-dive into a witchcraft trial that rocked 17th-century New England

A very ordinary king

HEATHER JONES is impressed by a new biography that reveals insights about the wartime monarch’s impressive political achievements, complex personal life and family failings

A timber-framed Tardis

Incongruously sandwiched between shops and pubs in a Norfolk market town stands a Tudor building crammed with stories spanning more than two millennia of local history. PRIYA ATWAL explores Ancient House Museum of Thetford Life

Emily Soldene - Actress, writer, rebel

As the darling of London’s opera scene, and then as a journalist printing scandalous revelations about the cream of society, Emily Soldene thrived in the limelight. HELEN BATTEN explains why this trendsetting, rule-breaking, genre-hopping Victorian celebrity deserves to take centre stage once more

Fight for a Nation

Costas Douzinas on a study of the revolution by which Greece freed itself from the Ottoman empire and was transformed into a self-ruling nation-state

Queen of Spies

Victoria controlled an extensive network of intelligence sources that fed explosive revelations to the British government - or direct to her. Rory Cormac and Richard J Aldrich investigate her adventures in espionage

Looting history

DAVID OLUSOGA praises a stark exploration of the bloodsoaked British raid that plundered the treasures of Benin

A KING OF FIRE AND LIGHT

French ruler Louis IX was a Catholic hero and a vicious anti-Semite, a patron of exquisite art and a fervent burner of books. Matthew Gabriele and David M Perry consider the tangled legacy of a man who embodies both the horrors and beauty of medieval Europe

The worlds first superhero

When Alexander the Great died at the age of 32, his transformation into multicultural icon was only just beginning. Edmund Richardson chronicles the Macedonian king’s remarkable afterlife as the original global A-lister

America's Fall Guy

King George III has long been cast as the crazed despot who squandered America. Yet, argues Andrew Roberts, this grim characterisation is the result not of hard facts but a historical stitch-up

Windows Onto History

From the glittering stained glass in medieval cathedrals to modernist high-rises, windows have illuminated our buildings for centuries. But, argues Rachel Hurdley, the presenter of a new BBC Radio 4 documentary on the history of windows, they can also shed light on the past

Instability Is A Problem That Has Recurred Throughout The History Of Afghanistan

In August, Taliban forces regained control of Afghanistan as US forces withdrew after two decades in the country. How can history help make sense of this seismic moment? We asked a panel of experts INTERVIEW BY MATT ELTON

MEDIEVAL DUELS

In 1386, two Frenchmen fought a duel in a field outside Paris, each seeking to bury his blade in the other's body. One combatant had been accused of raping the other's wife, a charge he denied vehemently. After an initial verdict of innocence was returned, the accuser demanded a trial by combat. The judgment was now God's alone... ...who would be chosen to die?