"WE'RE LOOKING AT THE PAST MORE TO FIND ANSWERS"

The historian and broadcaster discusses his new illustrated book, 2023's Chalke Valley History Festival and why studying WWII is more relevant than ever before

A groundbreaking collaboration between bestselling historian James Holland and award-winning artist Keith Burns, The Second World War: An Illustrated History is a new account of the key battles and critical turning points in the conflict. Most books about the Second World War are illustrated with black and white photographs but An Illustrated History presents the war in full colour, bringing the text vividly to life and leaving nothing to the imagination.

The book is a compilation of volumes that Holland and Burns produced for Ladybird Books, the iconic illustrated brand within the Penguin Publishing Group. It is aimed at a wide audience, from history enthusiasts and prospective GCSE students to those who want to make sense of current events by putting them in an historical context.

Holland is the author of many non-fiction and fiction books about Second World War and has made extensive broadcasts for television and radio. He is also the cofounder of the annual Chalke Valley History Festival in Wiltshire. Speaking ahead of the publication of his new book, here Holland discusses writing complex history for a general audience, the continuing relevance of the Second World War and this year’s upcoming festival.

A LADYBIRD HISTORY

What was the idea behind writing The Second World War: An Illustrated History?

It’s a compilation of the books I wrote for Ladybird Books. Their editor asked if I would be interested in doing a series of 12 books on the Second World War and I jumped at it because Ladybird Books are iconic. It also meant I could work with Keith Burns, whose work I knew, and frankly he’s a genius. There isn’t a book like this. It’s nice to have the individual Ladybird books but it’s also good to have a single volume of them. It was a no-brainer, really.