Volume 62 Issue 8 August 2012

Bilbao’s Britons: Mining in Biscay

Mike Thomas looks back to a period of economic buoyancy in the Basque region, when a special relationship flourished between the people of Biscay and Britain.

Heads and Tales: A Royal Affair

An 18th-century ménage à trois involving the King of Denmark inspired the recent film, A Royal Affair.  Stella Tillyard considers what makes it a story for our times.

England, Land of Lost Content

England has been conflated with Britain for so long that unravelling English history from that of its Celtic neighbours is a difficult task. Paul Lay considers recent histories of England and its people.

How Oil Became King

The great historical shifts in energy use, from wood to coal, to oil, nuclear power and beyond, have transformed civilisation and will do so again, as Richard Rhodes explains.

Who Got Mao Right?

The legacy of the Great Helmsman is the source of bitter conflict over China’s future direction, argues Tim Stanley.

The Olympics on Film

London 2012 will be the biggest television spectacle ever. Taylor Downing reflects on the extraordinary links between the Olympics and the moving picture throughout their histories.

King Arthur and the Church

Often portrayed as a paragon of Christian virtue, the real King Arthur was an embarrassment to the Church, writes Simon Andrew Stirling.

The Battering Ram

Roger Hudson on the circumstances behind an eviction in County Clare, Ireland, photographed in July 1888.