Today’s featured articles
When Iraq gained independence in 1932, its sovereignty remained constrained by Britain. The monarchy responded by building a powerful military that soon turned its guns on the country’s own people.
The potential implications of Charles Darwin’s theory of sexual selection did not sit well with Victorian gender mores – or with Darwin himself.
The Windrush generation witnessed the Caribbean colonies from which they had emigrated achieve independence. Despite being an ocean away, they were not passive observers.
Most recent
King of Games: Politics, Polo, and the Raj
Indian teams besting British sides on the polo field threatened to undermine the colonial enterprise.
‘The Shah’s Party and the Iranian Revolution That Followed’ review
In The Shah’s Party and the Iranian Revolution That Followed Robert Templer reveals the hubristic high point of the Pahlavi regime’s self-regard.
General Pinochet’s Return
Redressing the crimes of Pinochet’s regime has been a hard-fought and often contested process. Chile’s current presidency has revealed how easily progress can be reversed.
‘The Cheese and the Worms’ by Carlo Ginzburg review
A new translation marks the 50th anniversary of Carlo Ginzburg’s pioneering microhistory The Cheese and the Worms: The Cosmos of a Sixteenth-Century Miller.
The Case for King Arthur
Often dismissed as a myth, was there a real man behind the legend of King Arthur?
‘Charismatic Nations’ by Joep Leerssen review
Charismatic Nations: A Cultural History of Nationalism in Europe from 1800 to the Present by Joep Leerssen looks to art and not politics for the birth of the nation.
The Absurdity of Albert Camus
For Albert Camus understanding the past and predicting the future may hinge on one fact: history is absurd.
‘This Dark Night’ by Deborah Lutz review
This Dark Night: The Life of Emily Brontë by Deborah Lutz vividly reconstructs the world that produced Wuthering Heights. Are there limits to this approach?
Current issue
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In the August 2026 issue:
Caesar and Cicero’s war of words, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s peace campaign, Charles Darwin’s sexual revolution, Brazil’s free press, the Clerkenwell Outrage, and more.
Plus: reviews, opinion, crossword, debate, and much more!
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