Hugh Purcell

Subhas Chandra Bose: The Afterlife of India’s Fascist Leader

The intriguing death of an Indian holy man in 1985 suggested that he was none other than Subhas Chandra Bose, the revolutionary and nationalist who, it is officially claimed, died in an air crash in 1945. The truth, however, is harder to find, as Hugh Purcell discovers.

Paris Peace Discord

Hugh Purcell looks at how, 90 years ago, the British Empire rejected the principle of racial equality on which the Commonwealth is now based.

The Ghosts of Calcutta

Hugh Purcell finds stirring memories of the British Raj in this thriving city, a far cry from its dreadful reputation of a generation ago.

Broadcast History

Hugh Purcell argues that the increasing popularity and sophistication of television and radio history makes broadcasting the boom medium for learning about the past.

Television and The Great War

80 years after The Great War's outbreak Hugh Purcell looks at how film moulded its popular image and fused fiction with reality.

America's 'Civil' Wars

Hugh Purcell examines the impact on either side of the Atlantic of Ken Burns’s tour de force, The Civil War.