Marching to war

DAN JONES talks to Rhiannon Davies about his debut historical novel Essex Dogs, which follows a group of hard-bitten mercenaries fighting for their lives in the 1346 Crécy campaign

To the four corners of the world

CORMAC Ó GRÁDA commends an ambitious and accessible overview of the Irish diaspora, seen through the ordinary people who travelled to countries all over the world to find new lives

Nation building

JANET HARTLEY finds much to admire in a new history of Russia, while wanting more that might help explain the "one nation" belief that led to the recent invasion of Ukraine

"There's still this hangover that has to be seen through everything the prism of enslavement"

HAKIM ADI speaks to Rhiannon Davies about his wide-ranging study of the experiences of African and Caribbean people in Britain, from the height of the Roman empire to the modern day

The television age

In 1936, the BBC launched its new TV service - and changed British broadcasting at a stroke. DAVID HENDY charts the technological innovations that produced the so-called "magic rays" - and explores the delights they offered the viewing public

The stomach for the fight

In the Third Reich, food was not a personal matter but a way for Germans to show their patriotism and sacrifice. Lisa Pine investigates how the Nazis micromanaged what was being served on the nation's tables

Science’s global revolution

James Poskett introduces some brilliant thinkers who shatter the theory that, when it came to the scientific revolution of the 16th to 18th centuries, Europe was at the centre of the universe

THE RACE TO DECIPHER ANCIENT EGYPT, SACRED SCRIPT

The discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799 breathed life into a quest long deemed impossible: the reading of Egyptian hieroglyphics. Toby Wilkinson tells the tale of the two rivals who raced to be first to crack the code

HOW TO SURVIVE THE DARK AGES

The collapse of Roman rule in Britain left a vacuum that numerous powers competed to fill - but only a few realms endured. How did some thrive while others vanished or were vanquished? Thomas Williams offers six crucial survival tips for would-be rulers of early medieval kingdoms

FLOATING HELL

Convicts experienced notoriously miserable conditions in Georgian and Victorian Britain – and inmates of prison hulks endured the harshest of these deprivations. ANNA McKAY reveals the horrors of these “wicked Noah’s arks”

When Richard rose again

Ten years ago a skeleton in a Leicester car park transformed our understanding of a medieval king, and turned him into a media sensation. Mike Pitts tells the remarkable story of the discovery of Richard III's remains

"For too long medieval women have been written out of history. It's high time we put them back in"

Janina Ramirez introduces three trailblazers whose stories show that medieval women were far more than the wives, sisters and aunts of men

Thelonious Monk 1917-82

Singer, songwriter and composer Laura Mvula chooses

Smooth operator

SECOND WORLD WAR | KATE VIGURS acclaims a vibrant account of the life and wartime travails of American-French cabaret artist - and covert resistance operative - Josephine Baker

Caledonian chronicle

RAB HOUSTON has mixed feelings about an energetic but uneven romp through four centuries of Scottish political, social, cultural and economic history

A dramatic solar storm lights up the Earth

2 SEPTEMBER 1859 | The "Carrington Event" causes auroras and telegraph chaos

Why PMs get the push

Boris Johnson's announcement that he is set to resign as prime minister threw the British government into turmoil in July - and saw him join a small group of PMs brought down by scandal. RICHARD TOYE explores what we can learn from the demise of previous premiers

Want to know why Henry VI's reign was such a disaster? Then look no further than his father

Henry VI fell foul of the French, his soldiers, even his own advisors. Yet, writes Lauren Johnson, his greatest enemy was the revered warrior-king who left him the throne 600 years ago

Stalingrad through German eyes

Iain MacGregor explores the previously unpublished testimony of a German officer on the front line | In September 1942, German lieutenant colonel Friedrich Roske declared himself "the master of the centre of Stalingrad" after his troops had smashed their way into the heart of the city. But with thousands of Soviet guardsmen poised to launch a furious counter-attack, his triumph was to be short-lived. Roske's previously unpublished testimonies reveal, in unsparing detail, the grim fate of the German troops holed up in Stalingrad as the Red Army began to tighten its grip...

In 1678, Catholic assassins a plot to murder hatched Charles II... or did they?

Victor Stater tells the story of the Popish Plot, an elaborate fake news story that reshaped British politics - and sent dozens of innocent people to the gallows

The enduring trauma of partition

In 1947, British India was split in two, sparking a wave of violence that defined the new nations for decades. On the 75th anniversary of partition, Kavita Puri looks at how subsequent generations in south Asia and the UK have come to terms with its legacy

Enter the dragon

It's brought its own unique brand of magic to everything from Game of Thrones to Harry Potter. But how did the modern dragon come into being? Daniel Ogden traces the six stages of the creature's evolution in the west - from ancient serpent to medieval fire breather

THE DIG THAT CHANGED (URBAN) HISTORY

Sixty years ago, one of Britain's most important archaeology projects was launched in Hampshire. Michael Wood reviews the groundbreaking discoveries of the dig at Winchester, once the showpiece of Alfred the Great's royal dynasty

"Elizabeth I was a free woman in charge of her fate. Perhaps that's why Catherine de Medici despised her"

Estelle Paranque talks to Rhiannon Davies about her new book exploring the 30-year rivalry of two of 16th-century Europe's most powerful queens

A global revolution

John Harris is impressed by a wide-ranging and clear-eyed work exploring the mechanisms of the slave trade and its enduring legacy in shaping the modern world order

Down but not out

FERN RIDDELL applauds an honest portrait of 19th-century street life in Britain's capital, highlighting the hopes, fears and toils of real people who strove for more than just survival

How soap saved the BBC

In the 1980s, the BBC devised a new weapon in its ratings battle against ITV: EastEnders. DAVID HENDY explores how a mix of masterful publicity and melodramatic plots propelled the drama to popular success

Q&A

A selection of historical conundrums answered by experts

How to repel a MONGOL INVASION

They swept across Asia with terrifying efficiency. Yet, as 13th-century Europe quaked at the prospect of a Mongol invasion, there was an empire that, as Nicholas Morton writes, learned to beat the invaders at their own game

Dorothy Levitt Edwardian speed queen

By breaking records, winning titles and defeating her male adversaries, one fearless racing driver became a founding mother of women's motor sports. RACHEL HARRIS-GARDINER explores how Dorothy Levitt built her legend, both with her achievements behind the wheel and as a media sensation