Today’s featured articles
Anne of Cleves became known to posterity as the ‘Flanders Mare’ and Henry VIII’s ‘ugly wife’, thanks to disparaging descriptions by ambassadors and diplomats. What motivated them?
Eager to create goodwill towards Britain in its former colonies, the postwar government encouraged students from across the Empire to study in London. Housing them was a problem, as events in the summer of 1951 revealed.
Dutch mathematician Christiaan Huygens has long been overshadowed by Isaac Newton. But he is the better example of a modern scientist.
Most recent
The Legend of the Gibbet
Did live gibbeting ever take place in Britain? For the Victorians, the macabre question was a pressing one.
On the Spot: Alec Ryrie
‘Who is the most overrated person in history? Henry VIII. Nasty piece of work and not as clever as he thought he was.’
Human Canaries: Remembering the Munitionettes
The women who served as munitions workers during the First World War endured dismal conditions and a plethora of dangers: illness, injury, and death. Why are they barely remembered?
‘Capitalism: A Global History’ by Sven Beckert review
Capitalism: A Global History by Sven Beckert looks beyond the cities to the coffee and cotton that fuelled a global market.
Party in the USA: The 1976 Bicentennial in Boston
In 1976 Boston saw the bicentennial celebrations of the United States as an opportunity to revitalise the city.
‘Liberal Worlds’ by H.S. Jones review
Liberal Worlds: James Bryce and the Democratic Intellect by H.S. Jones explores the lost world and writing of a formerly eminent Victorian.
The First Tour de France
On 1 July 1903 a publicity stunt for a sporting paper cycled into history as the first Tour de France.
How Did the English Arrive in Britain?
Bede wrote that the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invaded Britain en masse in the fifth century. Does the evidence agree?
Current issue
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In the July 2026 issue:
The Declaration of Independence, Black Loyalists, how England learned Old English, sacrifice and early Christianity, and the Hans Crescent strike.
Plus: reviews, opinion, crossword, debate, and much more!
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