H.P. Lovecraft: Haunted by History
H.P. Lovecraft asked us to imagine a much deeper past than modern comforts and science allow us to perceive — and the monsters that might dwell there.
Interwar period
Britain’s Titled Fascists
The British countryside of the 1930s was a happy hunting ground for the British Union of Fascists, where recruits sometimes came with titles and estates.
‘The Edge of Revolution’, ‘Britain’s Revolutionary Summer’, and ‘Nine Days in May’ review
What can three recent books – The Edge of Revolution by David Torrance, Britain’s Revolutionary Summer by Edd Mustill, and Nine Days in May by Jonathan Schneer – tell us about the General Strike of 1926?
The Rif War
As Spain and France moved into Morocco, the people of the Rif Mountains united to form a new state. For five years they fought one of the most successful wars of resistance in imperial history.
‘Weimar’ by Katja Hoyer review
Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe by Katja Hoyer explores the city – and citizens – at the heart of Germany’s ill-fated republic, and the Reich that replaced it.
How the General Strike Changed Britain
The General Strike of May 1926 was quickly defeated, but it would rupture and recast the landscape of British politics. For some, the strikers’ failure was an opportunity.
‘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.
‘The Cancelled Prime Minister’ by Walter Reid review
The Cancelled Prime Minister: The Extraordinary Rise and Tragic Fall of Ramsay MacDonald by Walter Reid finds the romance behind Labour’s great betrayer.
Black Voices from the Archive
The testimonies of formerly enslaved people, collected in the 1930s by the Federal Writers’ Project, provide a unique archive for historians.
The British Empire’s Brothels
British servicemen overseas bought sex, sometimes in brothels run by the British army. In the 1970s they began to talk about it.