CATEGORIES

International head of silver at Christie's

MY LIFE IN HISTORY MEET THE PEOPLE BRINGING THE PAST TO LIFE

TEA, TOURS AND TOP HATS

When it came to getting away from it all, our forebears weren't all that different from us...

WHAT GREAT PAINTINGS SAY

A mythological love-at-first-sight meeting becomes a Renaissance masterpiece

THE HONEYMOON OF JAMES VI AND ANNA OF DENMARK

Amy Licence charts the lavish celebrations that followed the wedding between one of Scotland's most famous monarchs and his Scandinavian bride

Professor Michael Goodman on the Legacy of the Cold War

"While the Cold War might be over, it is as relevant today as it always has been"

CHAOS IN CUBA

When one of the US's closest neighbours agreed to host Soviet nuclear missiles, it triggered the most dangerous crisis in world history

MONEY AND POWER

In 1947, the US pledged billions of dollars to help rebuild war-torn Europe - but the Soviets sensed an ulterior motive

CONTAINING THE THREAT

President Truman was willing to go to great lengths to halt the spread of communism – and in Greece and Turkey, he succeeded

FROM FRIENDS TO ENEMIES

After uniting to defeat the Nazis, east and west were soon divided once more

EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE COLD WAR

Professor Michael Goodman answers key questions about the decades-long rivalry between the US and the Soviet Union

Elizabeth Gaskell: a voice of the Victorians

While not the most famous novelist of her generation, 'Mrs Gaskell' helped bring the unpleasant implications of industrialisation to the public consciousness. But what motivated her to speak out?

The Acts of Union 1707

"Since 1603, England and Scotland had a shared monarch, but were separate: two crowns, on one head"

CATCHING THE RED FOX

On the surface, Klaus Fuchs was a diligent young scientist, enthusiastically helping Britain and the US develop powerful new weapons during World War II. But, as Roger Hermiston reveals, his true loyalties lay elsewhere

WHAT IF... THE BLACK DEATH HAD NEVER HAPPENED?

Professor Mark Bailey tells Nige Tassell why the world would have become a very different place had the plague outbreaks of the 14th century not triggered fundamental changes in society

KEEPING THE PEACE

With no formal police force, maintaining law and order in medieval and Tudor England was very much a community affair

WHAT GREAT PAINTINGS SAY

A striking work of art borne of the horrors of World War I

EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Crime historian Dr Nell Darby answers key questions about the evolution of law and order in the British Isles

TO HELL AND BACK AGAIN A POLAR EXPLORER'S TALE OF TRAGEDY AND SURVIVAL

Douglas Mawson is not the most famous hero of Antarctic exploration, but, as Nige Tassell reveals, the Australian overcame the odds in one of the age's most disastrous expeditions...

THE GREAT BRITISH 'BOBBY'

We explore a selection of surprising facts about the history of British policing - from Robert Peel to the present day

GODLY BUTCHERY

In medieval England, the crime of treason was so heinous that it required a punishment that would horrify as much as it would deter. Dr Rebecca Simon discusses a method of execution reserved only for the worst of the worst

BANISHED TO A LAND DOWN UNDER

Rather than fill the prisons or issue the death penalty, judges chose to ship tens of thousands of convicts to Australia

A BLOODY NEW CHAPTER

After decades of discord, the lawmakers of early modern England took drastic new measures to make sure that citizens stayed in line

ATATÜRK’S TRIUMPH

The last major action of the Greco-Turkish War resulted in a Turkish victory – but the suffering was far from over for civilians on both sides

NORMAN CONQUESTS

The fearsome knights of Normandy did not stop at the successful invasion of England: they forged a dynasty that changed the face of Europe

ROBERT L HOWARD

On 30 December 1968 this colonel was fighting in Southeast Asia, facing an overwhelming force of North Vietnamese troops, all while severely wounded

WOLF HOUND

THE STRANGE HISTORY OF THE KG 200 LUFTWAFFE UNIT THAT FLEW CAPTURED ALLIED AIRCRAFT GETS EVEN MORE SURREAL

UKRAINE’S WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE

From 1917-21, against the backdrop of the end of the First World War and the Russian Civil War, Ukraine fought for its sovereignty against Bolsheviks, Germans, Polish… and even itself

GREEK OFFENSIVES 1920-21

After the seizure of Smyrna, Greek forces moved further into Anatolia with the aid of their allies

SMYRNA LANDING 1919

The regional tension in the wake of the Ottoman defeat broke out into a fresh conflict as Greek forces seized the coastal city and surrounding areas

LESSONS LEARNED?

Treated by the Combined Operations Headquarters as a dress rehearsal for D-Day, were the so-called ‘lessons learned’ worth the sacrifices at Dieppe?