History Today

Birdlore: ‘De avibus’ (On Birds), from De proprietatibus rerum (On the Properties of Things), by Bartholomaeus Anglicus, 1240.

The Meaning of Lore

How ‘lore’, a largely neglected medieval word, has found a new lease of life in fandom.

A letter used in the libel case against Annie Tugwell, 1909-13. MEPO 3/189, Criminal libel: "The Sutton Libel Case" (Mrs Annie Tugwell), 1909-1913.

The Case of the Poison Pen Letters

Anonymity can be a powerful shield. Tracing the culprit when it came to libellous letter-writing in the early 1900s was not straightforward

What does it mean?: the Dendera Zodiac on the ceiling of the Grand Temple at Dendera, Egypt, c.1826. From Descriptions of Egypt by Jean-Baptiste Prosper Jollois and Édouard de Villiers du Terrage. Heritage Images/Contributor via Getty Images.

Signs of the Zodiac: The Dendera Dating Controversy

How ancient was ancient Egypt? How old is the world? And what happens when archaeology contradicts the Bible? When the Dendera Zodiac arrived in Paris, these questions exploded into the public sphere.

Interior view of the Victoria theatre, then known as the Coburg, c. 1819. Smithsonian Design Museum. Public Domain.

Jane Eyre Goes to the Theatre

When it arrived on the Victorian stage, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre had a cast of new characters and a new social order.

Photogravure plate after painting by Neuville, 1882; group of 8 French soldiers relaxing in building yard during the Franco-Prussian War, one playing piano.

Bismarck’s War by Rachel Chrastil review

Bismarck’s War: The Franco-Prussian War and the Making of Modern Europe by Rachel Chrastil argues that German victory was a catastrophe for Germany and the world.

Opium Smokers Served Fruit and Bread c. 1750.

Psychonauts by Mike Jay review

Psychonauts: Drugs and the Making of the Modern Mind by Mike Jay is a fascinating study of cyclical attitudes towards self-experimentation.

A prisoner of the Inquision in this imagined scene by Jean Louis Desprez, c. 1789. Albertina. Public Domain.

Behind Closed Doors: Women and the Inquisition

What was there to fear from a medieval inquisition? For the inquisitors themselves, quite a lot.

A white marble Roman head of Plato, 3rd century AD.

Plato of Athens by Robin Waterfield review

Well-researched and attractively written, Plato of Athens: A Life in Philosophy by Robin Waterfield grapples with a life that left few records.

George McMahon under arrest after pulling a loaded revolver on Edward VIII, Constitution Hill, London, 16 July 1936. John Frost Newspapers/Alamy Stock Photo

George McMahon: Fascist Assassin or British Spy?

Mystery surrounds George McMahon who, having tried to assassinate Edward VIII, outed himself as an agent of a ‘foreign power’. Does the discovery of new Italian documents solve the puzzle or obscure it further?

A statue of Catalina Suárez Marcaida from 1575 in Seville. Suárez died under mysterious circumstances less than a year into her marriage to Hernán Cortés, governor of New Spain. Wikimedia Commons.

Did Hernán Cortés Murder His First Wife?

Within two months of arriving in New Spain, Catalina Suárez Marcaida, first wife of the conquistador Hernán Cortés, was dead. Did she meet with foul play?