Stakhanovite Shopping
Even the retail sector became part of the second Five Year Plan imposed on the Soviet Union by Stalin.
History Matters
Thoughts, opinions and commentary on all things historical.
Get Miscellanies, our free weekly long read, in your inbox every week
Haiti’s Black Legend: Zombies, Cannibals and Werewolves
The complexities of Haitian Vodou were misunderstood and exploited by imperialists, with tales of human sacrifices and cannibalism a backdrop to the US invasion of 1915.
All By Myself
Solitude was treated with suspicion in the Middle Ages. For most people it has only been a possibility in recent times.
The Politics of Pancakes
In England, Shrove Tuesday has not just symbolised feasting, fasting and family, but riot and rebellion, too.
The Romantic Reputation of John Keats
On his death, John Keats and his work looked sure to be forgotten. Why is his poetry now so well-loved?
The Story of Peru’s Cloud Warriors
What can be known about Peru’s pre-Incan civilisation, the Chachapoya people or ‘Warriors of the Clouds’?
Medieval Minims
The hidden meaning of a medieval pen-twister.
Harold Moody’s Fight for Racial Equality
The pioneer of the British civil rights movement is no less significant than his American counterparts.
Celibacy, Misogyny, and Sodomy
The medieval insistence on clerical celibacy had dangerous and long-lasting consequences.
‘Did You Hear the One …’
What to do when a good joke becomes bad taste.