Volume 58 Issue 3 March 2008

Edward I: Best of Kings, Worst of Kings?

Warmongering anti-semite, or constitutionalist and family man? Marc Morris takes a fresh look at the career of Edward I, whose reputation has suffered a roller-coaster ride over the centuries.

Poison and the Victorian Imagination

Criminal poisoning at once fascinated and terrified Victorian society. Here Ian Burney shows how the extraordinary case of a doctor, hanged in 1856 for allegedly poisoning an acquaintance, threw up deep-rooted anxieties about poison, detection, and professionalism in Victorian society.

Dating the Nation

Anthony Smith challenges the modernist view of nationalism that traces its origins to Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary Europe.

Allies in Disarray: The Messy End of the Crimean War

Between autumn 1855 and spring 1856, the attitude of Britain’s war leaders underwent bewildering change as their determination to bring the war with Russia to a desirable conclusion was buffeted by doubts about the commitment of the French, and fears about the motives of French policy, as Brian James reveals.

Creation of a Masterpiece

The design and building of Salisbury Cathedral, the Gothic masterpiece and pinnacle of English architecture, built in double-quick time.