BBC History Revealed Magazine - December 2022

In this issue

Gold fever goes global
We explore six other parts of the world that saw prospectors flocking: from New Zealand to Chile.

The price of gold
A look at the staggering cost that intensive mining practices inflicted upon the natural world.

The History Detective
Dr Nell Darby delves into a cold case that was overshadowed by the Ripper killings..

The Great Smog

On 5 December 1952, as Londoners rushed around the city after the start of the festive season, fingers of fog began to unfurl between chimneys. But as night rolled in, the fog thickened, and soon a blanket of smog was choking the capital. Londoners stumbled around the streets, unable to see further than a few metres in front of them.

3 mins

Howard Hughes: the troubled tycoon

Every venture the American business magnate undertook was big from his blockbuster movies to the planes he constructed. But how did Hughes go from rubbing shoulders with the stars to living a life of seclusion?

3 mins

6 THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THE CROWN JEWELS

With a coronation on the horizon, we reveal some lesser-known facts about the nation’s most precious treasures

6 mins

GOING WEST

One man’s chance discovery would put California firmly on the map and change the course of US history

8 mins

CHASING THE AMERICAN DREAM

Being a prospector during the California gold rush was by no means plain sailing, but non-white arrivals had it especially tough

4 mins

THE PRICE OF GOLD

Dr Stephen Tuffnell shines a light on the staggering cost that intensive mining practices inflicted upon the natural world

4 mins

AFRICAN QUEENS THE WARRIOR 'AMAZONS' OF DAHOMEY

New Hollywood blockbuster The Woman King brings the remarkable story of the female soldiers of 19th-century west Africa to the fore. Jonny Wilkes reveals how this elite fighting force of highly trained and disciplined warriors built such a fearsome reputation

9 mins

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère

WHAT GREAT PAINTINGS SAY | A snapshot of 19th-century Parisian nightlife has hints of a darker story lurking just beneath the surface

3 mins

WONDERS OF GOD

In the 19th century, numerous young women on both sides of the Atlantic were alleged to be forgoing food and surviving on faith alone. Felicity Day uncovers the secrets of the so-called fasting girls”, whose stories have inspired a new Netflix drama

7 mins

What is the importance of the Phaistos Disc?

SHORT ANSWER The ancient treasure may be the key to unlocking an unreadable  script, if it can ever be deciphered

1 min

Read all stories from BBC History Revealed

BBC History Revealed Magazine Description:

History Revealed brings the past to life for everyone. It’s an action-packed, image-rich magazine with zero stuffiness, jam-packed with facts, features and historical fun. If you enjoy finding out how things happened, love a good story, want to revel in stunning images from the past, or lap up trivia and facts, then History Revealed is the magazine for you.