Swahili on the Road
How did Swahili become an East African lingua franca? It was not by accident.
Recently published
The Death of the Great Barnato
On 5 July 1852 the curtain came down on Barney Barnato, one of the richest men in South Africa.
Plato’s Last Word to Dionysius
How to reform an ancient Greek tyrant? Plato’s final advice to Dionysius the Younger was not well received.
‘The Big Hop’ by David Rooney review
Long overshadowed by Lindbergh, The Big Hop: The First Non-Stop Flight Across the Atlantic and Into the Future by David Rooney returns Alcock and Brown to aviation's top flight.
England’s Prison Population Problems
In the early 20th century the prison population in England and Wales was in sharp decline, despite a rise in crime.
Artificial Inspiration
Poets across the ages have sought help with their writing – but AI bears no comparison with the divine.
‘The Writer’s Lot’ by Robert Darnton review
The Writer’s Lot: Culture and Revolution in Eighteenth-Century France by Robert Darnton discovers a literary flowering in the shadow of the guillotine.
Marcus Garvey Meets the KKK
On 25 June 1922 Black activist Marcus Garvey found common cause with the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.
Italian Emigrant Soldiers in the First World War
Italy’s entry into the Great War in 1915 prompted 300,000 men to return to their homeland to join the fight. Were they Italian enough for Italy?
Does a Focus on Royalty Obscure British History?
‘Mary, Bessie, James you ken, then Charlie, Charlie, James again...’ Does the litany of kings and queens help or hinder an accurate understanding of Britain’s past?