Reviews

A crowd of Germans outside of a Jewish-owned department store in Berlin on the first day of the Nazi boycott of Jewish-owned businesses, 1 April 1933. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of National Archives. Public Domain.

‘Bystander Society’ by Mary Fulbrook review

Mary Fulbrook’s Bystander Society: Conformity and Complicity in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust holds the ambivalent accountable.

A young Zelia Nuttall, UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library. Public Domain.

‘In the Shadow of Quetzalcoatl’ by Merilee Grindle review

In the Shadow of Quetzalcoatl: Zelia Nuttall & the Search for Mexico’s Ancient Civilizations by Merilee Grindle depicts a woman ahead of her time, yet very much a product of it.

Theoderic’s tomb in Ravenna by Robert von Spalart, c. 1804-1811. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain.

‘Theoderic the Great’ by Hans-Ulrich Wiemer review

In Theoderic the Great: King of Goths, Ruler of Romans, Hans-Ulrich Wiemer fully reinforces his vision of Theoderic as a man grappling with challenges which still confront us today.

Postcard of the Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Joseph I, 1908. Wien Museum (CC0).

‘The Life & Death of States’ and ‘Vienna’ reviews

New books by Natasha Wheatley and Richard Cockett explain how for all its apparent anachronism the Hapsburg empire, and its capital, shaped the modern world.

‘A Contest between Oppression and Reason, On the Best Way of Settleing Debates’ by William O'Keefe, c. 1795. Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection. Public Domain.

‘The End of Enlightenment’ by Richard Whatmore review

Richard Whatmore’s The End of Enlightenment: Empire, Commerce, Crisis takes the ideals of the 18th century on their terms.

Polly Bergen (as Lizzie Bennet), Phyllis Newman (Jane Bennet) and Lauri Peters (Kitty Bennet) in the stage production of Pride and Prejudice, c. 1959. New York Public Library. Public Domain.

‘Jane Austen’s Wardrobe’ by Hilary Davidson review

Jane Austen’s Wardrobe by Hilary Davidson seeks to provide the context that more than two centuries of changes in fashion have obscured.

A souvenir postcard from the Prince of Wales’ visit to Japan in 1922. MFA Boston. Public Domain.

‘One Fine Day’ and ‘Imperial Island’ review

One Fine Day: Britain’s Empire on the Brink by Matthew Parker and Imperial Island: A History of Empire in Modern Britain by Charlotte Lydia Riley are filled with ambition.

The Battle of Verneuil from the Vigiles du roi Charles VII, c. 1484. Bibliothèque nationale de France. Public Domain.

‘The Hundred Years War Vol 5’ by Jonathan Sumption review

The Hundred Years War Vol 5: Triumph and Illusion by Jonathan Sumption charts the English downfall and France’s triumph to bring the epic five-volume history to its conclusion.

Books of the Year 2023

Revolutions and rubles, godlings and fascist symbols, Shakespeare and silk: ten historians choose their favourite new history books of 2023.

Throwing shade: Camille Desmoulins speaks at the Palais-Royal on 12 July 1789, two days before the taking of the Bastille, by Jean-Louis Prieur, c.1790. Alamy Stock Photo.

‘The Revolutionary Temper’ by Robert Darnton review

The Revolutionary Temper: Paris, 1748-1789 by Robert Darnton is a sweeping account of events from the Parisian perspective, from disastrous wars to fights for religious toleration.