Cultural

The boxer's great victory over James J. Braddock took place on June 22nd, 1937.

From Captain Cook to playboy Prince Bertie, Tessa Dunlop examines the appeal of the tattoo among high society.

In 1729 a young entrepreneur, Jonathan Tyers, took over the failing management of the pleasure gardens at Vauxhall. During his long tenure he was able to make it a resounding success, as David Coke  explains.

Jonathan Downs reports on the fire last December that caused extensive damage to one of Egypt’s most important collections of historical manuscripts.

Fundamentalism has become the face of Islam in the West. It was not always so and need not be in the future, says Tim Stanley.

Contemporary culture places a high premium on novelty. Armand D’Angour argues that we should consider the more balanced views about old and new found in classical Greece.

Richard Almond has trawled medieval and Renaissance sources for insights about ladies’ riding habits in the Middle Ages and what they reveal about a woman’s place in that society.

Dunia Garcia Ontiveros charts the little-known history of the Sami population and the life of Knud Leem, the first person to study their language and culture.

In recent years British models have reappeared on the catwalk wearing real fur, though it is unlikely to ever regain the mass appeal it once had. Carol Dyhouse looks back to a time when female glamour was defined by a mink coat.

Chris Corin ressurects the life of a Soviet survivor whose remarkable and significant career deserves to be better known.

Richard Wilkinson finds much to enjoy in the opening volumes of a comprehensive new series on British social history.

Robert Pearce has been pleasantly surprised at the quality of a new textbook.

Russel Tarr compares and contrasts the rise to power of two Communist leaders.