Charles de Gaulle is Sentenced to Death
Court-martialled in absentia on 2 August 1940, the Vichy regime confiscated de Gaulle’s property and condemned him to death.
Britain
Ship Shape: British Naval Strategy After Napoleon
British military engagement in northwest Europe did not pause after Waterloo and resume in 1914. The intervening century saw fluctuations in French power – and the creation of a strategic system to control it.
‘Make the Foreigner Pay’: When Britain Tried Tariffs
In 1903 a group of politicians tried to sell tariffs as a panacea to all of Britain’s problems. Would the public buy it?
How Hertha Ayrton Made Waves
Hertha Ayrton’s experiment in a bathtub may have saved lives in the trenches, but it caused ripples among the ranks of the Royal Society.
‘I Humbly Beg Your Speedy Answer’ by Mary Beth Norton review
‘I Humbly Beg Your Speedy Answer’: Letters on Love and Marriage from the World’s First Personal Advice Column by Mary Beth Norton reveals the 17th-century origins of the agony aunt.
The Battle for Britain’s First Book of the Month Club
Britain’s first book-of-the-month club – the Book Society – brought reading to a vast new audience. But not without some controversy.
‘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.
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?
The First Men’s Cricket World Cup
International cricket’s big day became its payday on 21 June 1975 when Australia faced the West Indies in the final of the first Cricket World Cup.