The Speed of Early Modern News
How did Western Europe learn of the fall of Constantinople, the loss of Negroponte, and the Ottoman defeat at Lepanto? In the early modern era all news was slow news.
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The Hidden Diary of Samuel Pepys
When Samuel Pepys’ diary was first published 200 years ago it was an instant hit, but rumours soon spread about what had been cut and why.
‘Liverpool and the Unmaking of Britain’ by Sam Wetherell review
In Liverpool and the Unmaking of Britain, Sam Wetherell discovers a city of slavery, ships, soccer, and socialism, whose fortunes rose and fell with the tide.
Remembering South Vietnam
With North Vietnam’s victory in 1975, its southern counterpart ceased to exist. What happened to South Vietnam?
‘Rot: A History of the Irish Famine’ by Padraic X. Scanlan review
Padraic X. Scanlan levels familiar charges against British colonialism and capitalism in Rot: A History of the Irish Famine. Is there more to the story?
Sex Workers and Salvation in the Renaissance
Renaissance Florence had a problem: it wanted female sex workers, but it also needed to offer them a way out. The solution was a new brothel district – and a nunnery for former prostitutes
VE Day: The Quiet After the Peace
When VE Day finally came in May 1945 it was met with relief, exhaustion, and cynicism. Was the Second World War in Europe really over?
‘The Soldier’s Reward’ and ‘Matchmaking and the Marriage Market...’ review
The Soldier’s Reward: Love and War in the Age of the French Revolution and Napoleon by Jennifer Ngaire Heuer and Matchmaking and the Marriage Market in Postrevolutionary France by Andrea Mansker reveal romance in a time of revolt.
Delivering the Chinese Post Office
As Late Imperial China sought to rebuild as a modern state from the ashes of war, a new national post office was born.
‘The Crowd in the Early Middle Ages’ by Shane Bobrycki review
A tool for tyrants... or their undoing? The Crowd in the Early Middle Ages by Shane Bobrycki crafts a history for the medieval mob.