Literature

Angels Ever Bright and Fair

The ‘Angels of Mons’, a short story written in the earliest days of the First World War, became an enduring symbol of British providence.

Frankenstein: Between Two Worlds

Mary Shelley’s great novel is not a commentary on the Industrial Revolution, nor is it a simple retelling of the myth of Prometheus. It is far more original than that.

The Medieval Invention of Fiction

What goes on in other people’s minds? The idea of writing about what we can never know – the interior lives of others – was born in the fertile hybrid culture of 12th-century England and made possible by the pursuit of romantic love. 

The Best History Books 2017

From ancient Greece to the Second World War, from the papacy to the Antichrist, from Byzantium to China and the story of the Jewish people, historians select their favourite books of the past year.