The A to B of medieval travel
From dodging deceitful street hustlers and menacing bandits to dealing with the looming threat of food poisoning, sea sickness and even death, medieval travel could be a dangerous business. In today’s...
1 Jan 202421min
The Munich beer hall putsch: a botched coup?
From the mid-1920s, Adolf Hitler saw a dramatic transformation in the eyes of the German public – from the buffoon who had botched a coup, to a true patriot who could deliver Germany from chaos. A cen...
25 Dec 202315min
Cartoon Century: Disney at 100
As the Walt Disney Company celebrates its centenary, it seems a fitting time to reflect on the legacy of the iconic House of Mouse. In this Long Read, John Wills traces the company’s story from its ea...
18 Dec 202323min
The crusade against the odds
Powerful foes, chronic starvation, hostile landscapes – the First Crusade, an 11th-century armed pilgrimage to the holy city of Jerusalem, overcame seemingly insurmountable challenges. In today’s long...
11 Dec 202317min
The hellish WW2 battle for Italy
The Allied invasion of Italy in 1943 was envisaged as a swift push on Rome. Yet, as James Holland explains in today’s long read, by the end of the year, the campaign was stymied by German defences far...
27 Nov 202319min
The siege of Calais: a medieval Stalingrad?
Edward III’s siege of Calais was a pivotal moment in the Hundred Years’ War. In today’s long read, Dan Jones argues that it bears comparison with one of the most brutal clashes of the modern era: the ...
20 Nov 202318min
Empire on the brink
In September 1923, the British empire reached its maximum territorial extent – a staggering 460 million people lived within its borders. Yet just as the imperial project reached its apex, writes Matth...
13 Nov 202322min
Anne Boleyn’s fatal French connection
Anne Boleyn famously spent her youth learning the customs and etiquette of the French court. But how did this extensive education impact her later life, and her approach to queenship? Today’s long rea...
6 Nov 202320min
