Literature

Michael Paris looks at how science fiction and popular literature shaped personal prejudices and political agendas about 'destruction from the skies'.

Robert Stradling presents an intriguing new interpretation as to who the legendary Lothario actually was, and lifts the lid on questions of conspiracy and sexual identity in 17th-century Spain.

Our boys over there? Mark Ellis looks at how America's black newspapers and population reacted to US involvement in the First World War and at the steps the government took to try and ensure a favourable press.

Jean Bloch expounds the new thinking which sees the Revolution as a catalytic period for literature, fusing Enlightenment philosophies with the fervour engendered by a tumultuous time.

Michael House examines the life of the unconventional poet.

Janet Backhouse explores the Illuminated Books of Gothic England.

Philip Collins argues that Dickens' writing reflects not only a marvellous rapport with a cross-section of Victorian society but an integration of populism with a concern for 'the raising up of those that are down.'

Kenneth Fowler looks at the genius of the 14th-century French courtier and chronicler and how he captured the spirit of his age in a sophisticated and complex narrative.

On 4th April 1944, Anne Frank wrote, 'I want to go on living even after my death!' Four months later, she and her family left for a concentration camp after capture by the Gestapo, and she died from typhus at Bergen-Belsen in March 1945, aged fifteen years.

Peter Stansky contrasts two socialist visions for the world, one optimistic and one pessimistic.