Feature

Noël Coward, 1963. ETH Library Zurich, Image Archive / Com_C13-043-002 (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Noël Coward and the Second World War

Told by Churchill to ‘go and sing when the guns are firing’, Noël Coward aspired to do more during the Second World War than entertain the troops.

Martin Luther King and Malcolm X after King's press conference at the U.S. Capitol about the Senate debate on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Library of Congress. Public Domain.

The Media Made Malcolm X

Depicted as a dangerous extremist and a threat to the civil rights movement, black activist Malcolm X was as much a beneficiary of the media as he was its victim.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a masterpiece of Middle English literature, which narrowly escaped destruction in the 18th century. Nicholas Mee examines the poem to discover both its secret benefactor and the location in which its drama unfolds.

The arrival of Concorde at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands, 27 February 1982. Nationaal Archief. Public Domain.

Concorde: Flight of the Imagination

Wracked by industrial decline, Britain and France embraced the world’s first supersonic airliner: Concorde.

Medmenham: Spying from the Sky

Taylor Downing tells the story of the Central Interpretation Unit at Medmenham, Buckinghamshire, where the RAF’s aerial photo interpreters played a critical role in Britain’s wartime struggle.

‘The battle at the Ta-ping gate at Nanking’, during the Revolution of 1911, by T. Miyano. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain.

1911: China’s First Revolution

The failings of China's 1911 Revolution heralded decades of civil conflict, occupation and suffering for the Chinese people.

A commemorative album of photographs from Gandhi’s Salt March, c. 1930. British Library. Public Domain.

Gandhi, Non-Violence and Indian Independence

The legend of Mahatma Gandhi places his non-violent Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience, and Quit India movements at the heart of India’s independence. There's more to the story.

The Establishment of the Post-War Consensus, 1954-64

Andrew Boxer explains why party political strife lacked real substance in the period after 1945.

King Æthelstan, flanked by images of the Synod of Arles, on the window of Beverley Minister. Jules & Jenny (CC BY 2.0).

Giving Life To Æthelstan

In 15 years Æthelstan united the English for the first time. Yet many of the facts about the Anglo-Saxon king remain elusive.

Syrian soldiers on parade, by Willem van de Poll, c. 1951. Nationaal Archief. Public Domain.

Syria: Coup Proof?

Syria was among the most unstable states in the Middle East until Hafez al-Assad came to power in 1970. Can his son, Bashar, maintain the regime’s iron rule?