Volume 75 Issue 10 October 2025

World map identifying Asia with Shem, Europe with Japheth, and Africa with Ham. From Isidore of Seville’s Etymologiae, printed in Augsburg, 1472. Harry Ransom Center, The University of Austin, Texas. Public Domain.

Noah’s Ark and the Slave Trade

After the Flood, Noah’s sons were repurposed to support a new worldview justifying racial hierarchy and slavery.

‘College Pranks’, Thomas Rowlandson, 1811. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain.

‘The Indefatigable Asa Briggs’ by Adam Sisman review

The Indefatigable Asa Briggs: A Biography by Adam Sisman is a detailed portrait of that voluminous chronicler of Victorian things.

Portrait of Antonio Bulifon, published by his son, Nicola Bulifon, 1703-04. Rijksmuseum. Public Domain.

The Race to Write a History of Naples

The lifelong rivalry of two early modern Neapolitan printers was a battle of books, power, and, ultimately, fire.

Sheepshearing in the Fens, Robert Walker Macbeth, 1889. Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums. Public Domain.

‘Fenwomen’ by Mary Chamberlain review

Mary Chamberlain’s groundbreaking oral history turns 50. This new edition of Fenwomen: A Portrait of Women in an English Village invites reflection on half a century of change.

Kennedy files illustration © Ben Jones/Heart Agency.

Lost in the Kennedy Files

The release of government documents related to the Kennedy assassination will keep scholars busy for years, but will we learn anything new?

Odysseus returning to Penelope, from Homer’s Odyssey, terracotta plaque, c.460-50 BC. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain.

The Heroic Remains of Homer’s Odyssey

For those living on the Greek island of Ithaka, The Odyssey is written all around.

The Creation of the Sun and the Moon, Master of Jean de Mandeville, c.1350-70. J. Paul Getty Museum. Public Domain.

‘The Medieval Moon’ by Ayoush Lazikani review

More than science waiting to be understood, The Medieval Moon: A History of Haunting and Blessing by Ayoush Lazikani illuminates the enchanted orb of poets.

Fresco of Saint Augustine from the Lateran, Rome, sixth century. Bridgeman Images.

Saint Augustine: An African in the City of God

Saint Augustine was educated for a Roman world, but it was his time in North Africa that shaped his identity, his faith, and Christianity itself.

Obstetrical forceps, designed by the Chamberlen family in the 1600s. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain.

Doctor Chamberlen’s Forceps

Childbirth in the early modern period was a battleground between midwives and surgeons. The Chamberlen family of surgeons sought to reform the system with a revolutionary new tool: the forceps.

Titlepage to Athanasius Kircher’s China illustrata, 1667. Public Domain.

Written in the Stars: How Old is China?

Chinese astronomers and the European Jesuits who worked alongside them found evidence of China’s antiquity in the heavens. Others were sceptical: how old was China really?