All About History

Why always Henry? I have had reason to ponder this question frequently during my time as editor of this magazine. His allure as atopic of historical study and discussion cannot be denied. Perhaps it's just the scandal and drama of his marriages, but

Operation Dynamo was launched on 26 May 1940 to evacuate 338,000 Allied troops from the beaches of Dunkirk, France after they had been surrounded by German forces during World War II. The 'Miracle of Dunkirk’ was a critical turning point for the Alli

Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, alongside works such as John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678), is considered one of the first examples of the English novel. Immensely popular upon its release, by the end of its first year of publication Robinso

What was the Grand Tour? What kind of person embarked on it? The Grand Tour is a term historians retrospectively apply to travel undertaken from the late 16th and early 17th century, and was not widely used by contemporaries until the middle of the 1

Thomas Wolsey rose through the ranks of the Catholic Church before becoming Henry VIII's most trusted advisor. In 1515 he was made Lord Chancellor of England and was gradually given more and more power by the king. Wolsey was charged by Henry with ob

Glenn Richardson is a Professor of Early Modern History at St. Mary's University, London. He specialises in Tudor politics and is the author of Wolsey (Routledge Press, 2020). Remembered as the monarch with six wives who broke away from the Catholic.

Theatre was a popular pastime in the Georgian era, and in the market town of Richmond a Georgian theatre survives in its original form. The Georgian Theatre Royal was first built in 1788 by actor Samuel Butler and served a community of theatregoers u

Ancient societies from Mesopotamia to Mesoamerica, Greece to Egypt, Rome to China cultivated drugs for rituals and personal use. Many of these substances, such as various alcoholic beverages, cannabis and opium remain in use for many of the same purp

Henry VIII was a keen jouster who loved to display his talents and athleticism. In 1524 though, the dangers of the sport caught up with him when he was badly injured in a competition with Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk. This experience did litt

In San Francisco between 1968 and 1969, a mysterious figure, who referred to himself as the Zodiac killer, murdered at least five people. The Zodiac wrote a number of mocking letters to the police force and sent a series of mysterious cryptograms. Ea

Today, the name of Yorkshire businesswoman and trailblazing lesbian Anne Lister is known to audiences across the globe. Thanks to Gentleman Jack, BBC/HBO's enormously successful biographical drama, Lister's life and her refusal to compromise on her i

By 750, the Umayyad dynasty had expanded the Muslim Caliphate to its greatest limits - ruling over a realm twice the size of the Roman Empire at its peak, stretching from Spain to China. However, that year, the Umayyads were overthrown and slaughtere

For all its majesty and splendour, the imperial court of Kyoto was awash in vengeful plots hatched by the feuding bloodlines that crowded the austere palace. For almost 300 years the era known as Heian, where the former capital of Nara was moved furt

A cold moon rose over Texarkana on the night I of 22 February 1946. At 11.45pm, 25-year-old Jim Hollis and his 19-year-old girlfriend Mary I Jeanne Larey parked their car on a secluded 1 1 road - locally known as 'lovers' lane'. After a moment, they

1976 In 1976, the murders were immortalised in film when enterprising Texarkana filmmaker Charles B Pierce directed The Town That Dreaded Sundown. In 1972 Pierce had helmed the independent hit. The Legend Of Boggy Creek, a docu-drama based on Arkansa

The death knell of the Spanish Republic was sounded on the banks of the Ebro River in Catalonia, the scene of the longest battle of the civil war and the bloodiest in Spain's long history of warfare. By the time the attack was launched on 25 July, th

In 1900, British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans began to excavate the ruins of Knossos on the island of Crete. The location of one of Ancient Greece's most infamous myths, the world waited to see what Evans would unearth after people had searched for

A hallucinogenic exploration of the life and career of David Bowie Certificate: 15 Director: Brett Morgen Cast: David Bowie (self) Released: 2022 (out now on Netflix) In 2016, the world lost David Bowie. Musician, actor and even painter, he had a sei

An exhaustive exploration of class conflict through literature Author: Mark Steven Publisher: Verso Books Price: £18.99 Released: Out now Class War is an intriguing new work from Verso Books that seeks to explore the notion of class conflict and upri

An insightful and personal discussion of Victorian child-bearing and motherhood Author: Jessica Cox Publisher: The History Press Price: £25 Released: 8 June 2023 In this much-needed and intriguing study of childbirth and motherhood in Victorian Brita

Dierctor: Henry Hathaway Starring:James Mason, Cedric Hardwicke, Jessica Tandy County: USA Year: 1951 WWII general Erwin Rommel is portrayed as opposing Nazi ideology, with a role in the assassination attempt on Hitler B VERDICT: A mostly factual acc

Check out THE ULTIMATE HISTORY COOKBOOK available now Did you know? When they are presented in the shape of a Celtic knot, jumbles are sometimes referred to as Tudor Lovers’ Knots. A favourite Tudor sweet treat, jumbles are a type of biscuit flavoure