Feature

The ‘Experts’ from Afghanistan

Britain’s dearth of Afghan informants provided an opportunity for a disinherited Indian prince and his son to present themselves as an authentic conduit to the Muslim world. Soon they were advising the nation on subjects from geopolitics to the powers of the occult.

Japan, the West and the Treaty of Versailles

At the outset of the 1919 Paris Peace Conference Japan enjoyed a seat at the top table, but the vexed issue of racial equality set it and its notional Western allies on different paths.

A Dangerous Game on the Jacobean Stage

For nine days Thomas Middleton’s A Game at Chess was the greatest box office phenomenon of the English Renaissance. Then a warrant was issued for his arrest.

The Ethiopians Who Changed Rome

A community of Ethiopian monk-scholars in Renaissance Rome brought their learning, language and liturgy into the heart of the Roman Church.

Highwaymen: The Road to Infamy

Highwaymen’s reputations plummeted in the 17th century. Once praised as heroes in the manner of Robin Hood, the media now lauded the brave bystanders who resisted them.

Robert the Bruce: Born To Be King?

Remembered today as a national hero, Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, had an upbringing which spanned Essex to Ulster. He was a hybrid king to the last.