St Patrick’s Day Protests
St Patrick’s Day is a global celebration of Irish culture, but in the US its parades have always been political.
Recently published
If Anglo-Saxon Stones Could Talk
In some corners of England, the last Anglo-Saxon relics are looking down on us.
The Starving Time in Jamestown
Colonists had contrasting views on the Jamestown famine. How severe was it really?
‘Mexico: A History’ and ‘A Brief History of Violence in Mexico’ review
Mexico: A History by Paul Gillingham and A Brief History of Violence in Mexico by Pablo Piccato start from different places. Yet their neighbour to the north proves to be an inescapable destination.
Alfred the Great’s Indian Embassy
How likely is it that Alfred the Great sent two emissaries to India in the ninth century?
Lise Meitner’s Nuclear Vision
During the Second World War, Berlin scientists discovered nuclear fission. Only one of them got the credit. Why was Lise Meitner written out of history?
End of the Pastry War
Mexico’s disgraced saviour General Antonio López de Santa Anna completed his comeback on 9 March 1839 as the Pastry War came to a close.
‘Red Dawn Over China’ by Frank Dikötter review
Red Dawn Over China: How Communism Conquered a Quarter of Humanity by Frank Dikötter is a balanced account of the violent years between Kuomintang and communist rule.
How Important was the Battle of Hastings?
The Norman Conquest is credited with reshaping England, but was 1066 really all that?
‘Strikingly Similar’ by Roger Kreuz review
Strikingly Similar: Plagiarism and Appropriation from Chaucer to Chatbots by Roger Kreuz finds that copyright isn’t always a matter of black and white.