Petitions, Puritans, and the Civil War
Early Stuart England saw the emergence of mass petitioning. These expressions of collective grievance would advance popular politics, uncover division, and lay the road to war.
Volume 76 Issue 9 September 2026
What is an Information Age?
From the printing press to the internet, the spread of information has changed the world. How do we recognise an age defined by it?
The Bengal Famine in Indian Letters
In 1943 letters reporting starvation and death in Bengal began to reach Indian soldiers serving the British overseas. Despite colonial censorship, their testimonies revealed the devastating reality of famine.
What the Victorians Read
The Victorian reading public had access to a vast array of classical literature from Asia in multiple translations by experts and amateurs. What did they read, and why?
The Medieval Forgery at the Heart of the Church
An audacious forgery in the ninth century helped transform the papacy and the medieval Church. Its influence persists today.
‘On the Altar’ by Jonathan Sheehan review
On the Altar: A History of Sacrifice from the Sacred to the Secular by Jonathan Sheehan places bloodletting at the heart of Western thought.
Visiting Mao’s China
For the thousands of foreign visitors who travelled behind the ‘bamboo curtain’ to visit Mao’s China, hospitality workers – guides, drivers, waiters, chambermaids – were unofficial ambassadors for the new socialist state, and the state knew it.