The Best Articles of 2019
A selection of our favourite articles from the past year.
Feature
The Studious Resistance of Marc Bloch
A French medieval historian, who served his country in both world wars, helped pioneer a new approach to history in between them.
The Velvet Revolution In The Regions
What took ten years in Poland took ten days in Czechoslovakia. But, as some Czechs would discover, not all revolutions are equal.
The Female Rulers of Medieval France
But for one turning point, Ermengarde, Viscountesse of Narbonne, might be as well known as Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Empire and Celebrity
In the 18th century, celebrity culture helped make the British Empire seem both a part of everyday life and a place of fantasy.
A Perfect Landing
Overshadowed between two dramatic missions, the success of Apollo 12 was vital to the continuing space project.
The Torrid Zone
In the 18th century, Europeans in the tropics found themselves beset by an array of unpleasant afflictions. They blamed black women, the climate and the strength of their own masculinity.
Berlin’s Other Anniversary
The fall of the Berlin Wall was as much about beginnings as it was about endings. Out of the rubble came a new hope: techno music.
Virgin Islands of the Atlantic
The first ‘New World’ reached by Europeans was not in the Americas, but in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, where previously uninhabited islands were transformed forever.
Beyond Bletchley: GCHQ and British Intelligence
Britain’s largest intelligence agency marks its centenary this year. While its home is a distinctive architectural structure, what goes on inside remains little known.