Crystal Palace: Reflections of the British Empire
Was Joseph Paxton’s Crystal Palace a monument to Britain’s colonial achievement or a fragile symbol of a fragmenting imperial dream?
Feature
The Rise and Fall of the British Detective Novel
Detective stories captured the imaginations of the British middle classes in the 20th century. The fortunes of home-grown writers such as Agatha Christie reflected Britain’s social changes.
The British Prime Minister & the Development of British Democracy, 1868-1997
Graham Goodlad examines the changing role of the occupant of Number Ten in an era of significant political change.
Mussolini, Abyssinia and British Imperialism
Mussolini’s colonial land grab in Abyssinia provoked a political storm in Britain. The links between fascism and imperialism were not lost on the British left nor by the empire’s black subjects.
Chekhov and Conservation
The great Russian author Anton Chekov drew inspiration from the countryside and explored the practical and spiritual impact of trees and the consequences of deforestation.
What Good Did the League of Nations Do?
The League of Nations has been much derided, but it laid the foundations for an international court and established bodies that the United Nations maintains today.
The Battle of Britain: The Many and the Few
Richard Overy looks behind the myth of a vulnerable island defended by a small band of fighter pilots to give due credit to the courage of the redoubtable civilian population.
Count Folke Bernadotte: Sweden’s Servant of Peace
Folke Bernadotte was a great humanitarian who navigated the perilous path between warring parties, a mission that was to cost him his life.
South Africa: Remembering Sharpeville
The killing of 69 black South Africans on March 21st, 1960 was a turning point: the world judged apartheid to be morally bankrupt and the political agitation that ensued would eventually overturn white supremacy.
Napoleon’s Extraordinary Rendition
When Napoleon surrendered to a British naval captain after his defeat at Waterloo, the victors faced a judicial headache. Was St Helena Britain’s Guantanamo Bay?