Innholdsfortegnelse for Christmas 2015 i History Extra

“When we think of the Victorians, there’s no escaping from Charles Dickens. Widely regarded as Britain’s greatest novelist, his books have so profoundly shaped our understanding of 19th-century society that it can be hard to separate fact from fiction. The world that Dickens evokes is often bleak, filled with tales of poverty, hunger, crime and squalor. Yet the reality of life in Victorian Britain was rather different, as Rosalind Crone explores in our cover feature. Turn to page 50 to find out what she has to say. From the bottom of society to its gilded elite, this month we explore one of Britain’s great royal rivalries: Elizabeth I versus Mary, Queen of Scots. The two queens were cousins who once shared a friendly relationship, before a series of calamitous events…

‘Heat spots’ have been found in Giza pyramid A scan of the Great Pyramid at Giza has revealed “thermal anomalies” in the structure, Egyptian officials say. It is thought that the differences – which were detected using infrared thermography and include ‘heat spots’ in three adjacent stones at the bottom of the pyramid – may be the result of differences in building materials, internal air currents or the presence of voids behind the surface. Mesolithic people may have owned ‘ecohomes’ The remains of a 6,000-year-old ‘ecohome’ have been found by experts at the Blick Mead site near Stonehenge. The shelter, which was built in the hollow left by a fallen tree, featured a thatched or animal-skin roof connected to a central post to keep the heat in. And, rather than…

@HistoryExtra: What do you think are the biggest challenges present-day historians face? @StephenWensley Loss of the written source in favour of quickly superseded electronic media @charlotteshist Is it more important to show all knowledge discovered in complete detail or simplify to make findings accessible to everyone? @thebrassglass Shortage of funding, and grasping and maintaining public interest @IanEBass Lack of funding and the cutting of heritage services. Also a dependency on customer service rather than generating interest @spectator has suggested we should replace Remembrance Day with a ‘national Day of the Dead’. What do you think? @spyhistory No. Remembrance Day is about the living too. Remembering past & present sacrifices, but with a moment of reflection on the present day #peace @LouiseBrown1994 Barely respecting them is it? Seems to forget the…

Mary was still in France when, in 1560, a Protestant and anti-French uprising threatened her Scottish throne. English intervention on the side of the insurgents and the death of Mary’s mother, Mary of Guise, led to the Treaty of Edinburgh. By this, the French agreed to withdraw their troops that had been stationed in Scotland and recognise Elizabeth’s right to rule England, leaving Scotland in the hands of a coalition that supported Protestantism. While Mary refused to ratify the treaty, it marked the end of the first stand-off between the young queens: Elizabeth was triumphant, Mary was humiliated and incensed. Her eclipse was confirmed when in December 1560 her husband died, leaving her a childless dowager queen with no rule or status. When her mother-in-law, Catherine de Medici, made it…

On 10 February 1567 there was an explosion at the house at Kirk O’Field in Edinburgh where Lord Darnley had been staying. His dead body was found in the garden. When James Heyburn, Earl of Bothwell, Mary’s ally – with whom some believed she was having an affair – emerged as the chief suspect for Darnley’s murder, Mary too fell under suspicion. Elizabeth was horrified and in a letter to Mary explained how, “my ears have been so deafened and my understanding so grieved and my heart so affrighted to hear the dreadful news of the abominable murder of your mad husband and my killed cousin that I scarcely have the wits to write about it”. Elizabeth urged Mary to distance herself from the scandal in order to protect her…

Mary was now in England as a prisoner and Elizabeth cast as an unwillingly gaoler. After she was moved to Tutbury Castle and placed in the custody of the Earl of Shrewsbury, Mary petitioned her cousin for an audience, better treatment and the restoration of her crown, but was offered little in response. Elizabeth’s professions of determination to restore Mary to the Scottish throne now looked to be little more than realpolitik. When evidence emerged that Mary was implicated in the Ridolfi Plot that sought to depose Elizabeth and place Mary on the throne, Elizabeth was forced to acknowledge Mary as a significant threat and placed her in stricter custody. The unravelling of the Throckmorton Plot in 1583, a scheme for the Duke of Guise to invade England and place…

One hundred and fifty years ago, British soldiers stood among thousands of burned homes in Jamaica, surveying the battlefield they had created. At least 400 Jamaicans lay dead, many of them hanged in reprisals after the fighting had finished. The use of martial law to authorise these deaths quickly became the most infamous part of Britain’s response to the ‘Morant Bay Rebellion’ that shocked the island in October 1865. A celebratory letter from one soldier to another recorded “the splendid service” of “shooting every black man who cannot account” satisfactorily for his activity. The colony’s governor had not only authorised brutal force against the areas in disruption, but he had also directed sweeping revenge against the communities and individuals who defied his rule. In the subsequent months and years, cultured…

First aired in 2011, the TV series Game of Thrones – and George RR Martin’s fantasy novels on which it’s based – follows the dynastic clashes of the powerful families of Westeros as they scheme and fight for the Iron Throne. But though the story’s setting, plot and characters are fictional, much of it seems familiar. Martin was influenced by real people and events, notably from the medieval era – aspects of the Wars of the Roses are recognisable, as are nods to Hadrian’s Wall and the Icelandic sagas. The series is sparking wider interest in the Middle Ages – but how much are the characters, their allies and enemies drawn from history?…

Millions of British lives were lost in a costly and devastating conflict between 1914 - 1918. One hundred years later, the Woodland Trust and lead partner Sainsbury’s are creating four brand new woodlands to honour those heroes and the sacrifices they made. In addition, millions of saplings will be planted across the British Isles and Ireland, creating a meaningful and lasting memorial that will live on for hundreds of years, ensuring that, as those terrible events pass from living memory to history, they are never forgotten. Get involved Find out more and test your wartime knowledge in our heritage quiz at centenarywoods.org.uk or show your support with a donation by calling 0800 9151914 (quoting F15FWW018). DREGHORN WOODS, SCOTLAND Over the next four years, more than 50,000 trees will be planted…

c1359 Owain Glyndwr ^ is born. His father, Gruffydd Fychan, is descended from the princes of Powys (north-east Wales), and his mother, Elen, from the princes of Deheubarth (south-west Wales). March 1387 Owain is an esquire of Richard Fitzalan (left), Earl of Arundel. This reflected a tradition of service to the Fitzalans as lords of Bromfield and Yale and Oswestry and Chirk. 16 September 1400 Owain is proclaimed Prince of Wales by supporters on his estate at Glyndyfrdwy, near Corwen. His banner (left) presented him as the true prince. 22 June 1402 Owain wins a devastating victory at Bryn Glas, near the village of Pilleth in Radnorshire. He captures the powerful Marcher lord Edmund Mortimer, who later defects to him. May 1403 Henry IV’s eldest son, Prince Henry (the future…

he centenary of the Gallipoli/ Dardanelles campaign was one of 2015’s key military anniversaries, and I was impressed by Peter Stanley’s Die in Battle, Do Not Despair: The Indians on Gallipoli, 1915 (Helion & Company). Indian army troops made a significant contribution to the Gallipoli campaign, but until this title appeared, just a single chapter in a single book had been devoted to them. Stanley paints a fascinating picture of Indian army forces: their experience of hill warfare was invaluable in the difficult terrain of the peninsula. Turning to the Second World War, three books stood out. As the title of Robin Prior’s When Britain Saved the West: The Story of 1940 (Yale) suggests, it’s a provocative read, challenging assumptions about an iconic year in British history. Prior argues that…

Roger Moorhouse Significant archival revelations on the Second World War are pretty rare. But The Maisky Diaries, edited by Gabriel Gorodetsky (Yale), is just that: the secret diaries of the Soviet ambassador to London, Ivan Maisky, from 1932 to 1943. Maisky’s entries and pen-portraits of his contemporaries are revealing, and add a new voice to events. They also give a taste of the treasures still locked up in the Russian archives. Roger Moorhouse is author of The Devils’ Alliance: Hitler’s Pact with Stalin, 1939-41 (Bodley Head, 2014) Ian Kershaw In The German War: A Nation Under Arms, 1939–45 (Bodley Head) Nicholas Stargardt goes far beyond any previous work in helping to understand the mentalities of German soldiers and civilians in the Second World War. He makes brilliant use of first-hand…

Sarah Gristwood Just as you thought it was safe to go into a bookshop without seeing another Tudor biography you wanted, along comes The Lost Tudor Princess (Jonathan Cape), Alison Weir’s riveting profile of Margaret Douglas. Niece to Henry VIII and daughter to the queen of Scots, Douglas’s bloodline still runs in Britain’s royal family. I thought I knew the Tudors, but Weir manages, delightfully, to spring a string of surprises. Sarah Gristwood is the author of Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses (HarperPress, 2012) Tracy Borman How to Be a Tudor by Ruth Goodman (Viking) is a stunning, deeply researched account of what it was like to live as a Tudor. It’s based on a thorough review of the sources, but what makes it unique…

Selma (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, certificate: 12) tanding before an elite audience as he accepted the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, Martin Luther King Jr was a figure of the highest moral authority. It’s a scene recreated at the start of Selma, Ava DuVernay’s evocation of the 1965 protests against electoral practices that effectively disenfranchised African-Americans in the south of the US. But DuVernay doesn’t linger on King’s triumph. Instead, she cuts to the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, which killed four girls, and then to the scorn poured on Selma resident Annie Lee Cooper (Oprah Winfrey) as she tries to register to vote. King’s influence, we’re reminded, was a hard-won burden, rooted in struggle and suffering. That we understand the weight of such responsibility is largely down to…

1 Liverpool, Merseyside Where the Titanic dream was born Liverpool was once home to the head offices of the White Star Line – a plaque now marks the site. A memorial to six senior Liverpool engineers who lost their lives in the disaster can be found near the Liver building, as well as a memorial to the ship’s musicians, outside the city’s Philharmonic Hall. visitliverpool.com 2 Southampton, Hampshire Where most of the crew were based Some 549 Southampton residents lost their lives in the Titanic tragedy, many of them part of the ship’s crew, as well as Captain Edward Smith. A downloadable Titanic trail map (see web address below) takes you on a tour of various memorials including those dedicated to crew, firemen, musicians, engineer officers and restaurant workers. The…

If you fancy something a little different for Christmas lunch this year, why not try Nesselrode pudding, a Victorian ice-cream-style dessert packed full of chestnuts and fruit. This pudding was created especially for 19th-century Russian diplomat Count Karl Von Nesselrode. I have seen several different recipes but food historian Annie Gray’s recipe (taken from historian Lucy Worsley’s website – lucyworsley.com – and based on Eliza Acton’s recipe of 1845) looked like a great one to try. INGREDIENTS • Approx 30 chestnuts (recipe states tinned are best; I used a pack of cooked chestnuts which worked well)• 1 pint single cream• 2–3oz sugar• 1/3 chopped vanilla pod or 3 tsp vanilla extract• 4–6 gelatin sheets soaked in water• 2oz dried cherries• 2oz mixed peel• the peel of half a lemon METHOD Take the chestnuts and either force through a…

Rosalind Crone The sheer quantity, not to mention variety, of surviving source material for the Victorian period means that our preconceptions about the Victorians are constantly under challenge. I find the complexity and contradictions of this historical age totally addictive. • Rosalind writes about the Victorians on page 50 Jonathan Dimbleby It’s impossible to understand the Second World War without appreciating the Battle of the Atlantic, where individuals on both sides demonstrated extraordinary resilience, tenacity and guts. • Jonathan talks about the battle on page 32 Carolyne Larrington My investigation of real medieval parallels to some of the most extraordinary features of the world of Game of Thrones has revealed that history is often even stranger than fiction. • Carolyne writes about the history that inspired Game of Thrones on…

Lisa Jardine, a leading historian of the early modern period and member of the advisory board of BBC History Magazine, has died at the age of 71. A professor of renaissance studies at University College London (UCL), Jardine was also known for her TV and radio appearances discussing history and the arts. In 2009, she won the Cundill International Prize in History for Going Dutch: How England Plundered Holland’s Glory (HarperPress, 2008). Her other books covered topics as diverse as Shakespeare and the scientific revolution. News of her death prompted tributes from historians around the world. Simon Schama wrote that “Lisa Jardine was one of the great historians. She understood that, to write of humanity, you needed to be fully part of it.” UCL professor Melissa Terras remembered Jardine as…

American ideas of the right to bear arms, incorporated into the US Constitution and debated ever since, originated, in great part, from traditions of English law. The Second Amendment of the US Constitution, asserting the right of Americans to be armed, is a legacy of the right of Englishmen to “have arms for their defence”. That English right, enshrined in the English Bill of Rights of 1689, however, was limited to “the Subjects which are Protestants” – at that time, some 90 per cent of the population – and to those weapons “suitable to their Condition and as allowed by Law”. Despite these qualifiers, the English right to keep and carry firearms was virtually unrestrained until the Firearms Act of 1920. The US Second Amendment, by contrast, has no religious,…

Gentle clarification I read with interest the review by Joanna Bourke of Philipp Blom’s Fracture: Life and Culture in the West, 1918–1938 (Books, November). However, she repeats a misapprehension that is too common. When discussing Thank You, Jeeves, she refers to Jeeves as a butler. He was not a butler, but a gentleman’s personal gentleman, a very different role. Beach of Blandings Castle is a proper butler. Perhaps a better book to study might have been The Code of the Woosters, published in 1938, which contains the famous lampooning of Mosley and the Blackshirts as Roderick Spode and the Black Shorts. John Hood, Lancashire Richard III’s real misfortune I write in regard to the article by David Horspool in the December edition, pointing out the bad ‘luck’ – or, as…

“It will be a grim Christmas for many in the near east, Christianity’s birthplace. Conflict flares everywhere, the old streets of Syria are devastated, and its great heritage is being erased. On our TV screens every night we watch horrified as millions of refugees flood into Europe while their homes, the oldest inhabited cities in the world, are wrecked, and with them a pluralist society that existed for millennia. The gradual expulsion of Christians from their heartland is another strand of this tragedy. At the centre of the conflict is religious division. Not long before the present crisis erupted, I went to Damascus and visited the tomb of one of the towering figures in Islam, the philosopher and mystic Ibn Arabi, who died there in 1240 on the eve of…

On 15 May 1567, just three months after Darnley’s death, Mary married the Earl of Bothwell at Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh. The marriage proved to be deeply unpopular and many people, including Elizabeth, were shocked at the fact that Mary could marry the man accused of murdering her previous husband. Weeks later, 26 Scottish peers, known as the confederate lords, turned against Mary and Bothwell, and in July Mary was forced to sign deeds of abdication. Her son James was to become king with the Earl of Moray as regent. Elizabeth was outraged. She instinctively aligned herself with her fellow monarch, cousin and close kinswoman. She believed what the lords had done was abhorrent and maintained an uncompromising defence of Mary’s sovereignty. They had imprisoned and deposed an anointed queen, a crime…

John Stuart Mill Mill (below right), a utilitarian philosopher and MP for Westminster, advocated on behalf of a range of liberal causes such as women’s rights. He was well known thanks to writings such as On Liberty. However, he supported colonialism as a force for civilisation. Charles Darwin Darwin became known for his evolutionary theory, expounded in On the Origin of Species (1859). He and fellow naturalist TH Huxley supported Eyre’s prosecution. Some researchers believe that his family’s support for abolitionism inspired his interest in biological difference as a way to prove the common humanity of all races. John Bright Bright had established himself as a national figure during the campaign to repeal the Corn Laws, which triumphed in 1846. A staunch free trader, he shared scepticism of imperial and…

The term ‘Battle of the Atlantic’ was coined by Winston Churchill to describe Allied attempts to maintain the shipping routes across the ocean that were needed to support Britain’s war effort and population. Despite travelling in convoys and with navy escorts, merchant ships fell prey to German U-boats in large numbers. The Americans’ entry into the war, following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, lightened the burden on the British empire, but did not end the U-boat menace. The deadliest period came at the start of 1943, but soon afterwards new technology, tactics and intelligence successes turned the tide – and by May 1943 the battle was effectively decided in the Allies’ favour. The Allies lost around 80,000 seamen in the battle, including 30,000 from the merchant navy.…

Some time in the mid-19th century, the popular musical Florodora declared: “You must choose your wife with phrenological care. For the realm beneath her bonnet has your future mapped upon it.” Today, the idea of young men basing their choice of future wife on what lies “beneath her bonnet” – ie the dimensions of her head – may seem more than a little ridiculous. Yet 150 years ago, Florodora was offering male suitors some serious advice. The world was in the grips of a phrenology craze, and the ‘science’ of phrenology – which declared that the best way to read an individual’s character was through the shape of their skull – was making major waves. Prison colonies were being built on phrenological principles and none other than Queen Victoria herself…

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The date and circumstances of Owain Glyndwr’s death have been the subject of speculation for centuries. According to Welsh annals composed in the 15th century, “[in] 1415 Owain went into hiding on St Matthew’s Day in Harvest [21 September], and thereafter his hiding-place was unknown. Very many say that he died; the seers maintain that he did not.” Other 15th-century sources agree in placing his death on 20 or 21 September 1415. Owain’s contemporary, the chronicler Adam of Usk, alleged that the prince was buried secretly at night but was later reburied at an unknown location. The historian Elis Gruffudd (died c1556) related as many as three different accounts of the prince’s demise while, by the late 17th century, a history of the rising reported that he had died at…

t has been an excellent year for 20th-century history. Nobody interested in the story of Europe’s past century can afford to miss Ian Kershaw’s enormously assured To Hell and Back: Europe 1914 – 1949 (Allen Lane), a sweeping, measured survey of an age of terrible bloodshed and chaos, taking us from the dawn of the century to the onset of the Cold War in fine style. Meanwhile, Dominic Lieven’s Towards the Flame: Empire, War and the End of Tsarist Russia (Allen Lane) focuses on the agony of Russia in the first years of the century. Lieven brilliantly shows how and why Russia slid into war, setting the crucial decisions of the summer of 1914 against the wider context of its economic boom, political turmoil and growing paranoia about its German…

aking full advantage of the wide range of sources covering the ‘Julio-Claudian’ Roman emperors from 27 BC to AD 68 – Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero – Tom Holland’s Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar (Little, Brown) paints an intrigue-ridden picture of the new world that emerged after the Roman republic collapsed in a welter of blood. When the dust settled, one man was left standing: Julius Caesar’s adopted son and heir, Octavian, soon to become Rome’s first emperor, Augustus. Holland sees this new order as a mafiosi world, in which power rested with the padrone who would go to any lengths – even family murder – to sustain it. It all makes for a gripping read about a disturbingly fascinating period of history. Josiah…

Joann Fletcher Not only does John Ashdown-Hill’s The Mythology of Richard III (Amberley) deal with the mass of myths surrounding this much misunderstood monarch, it is a fascinating story of how the author’s research inspired Philippa Langley’s Looking for Richard project – with its sensational outcome. I particularly like the author’s conclusion: “When you encounter the myths, please refer to the evidence presented here – or go in quest of new evidence – and do your best to bust them!” – surely most excellent advice for any historian! Joann Fletcher’s most recent book is The Story of Egypt (Hodder and Stoughton, 2015) Andrew Roberts Jeremy Black’s Metropolis: Mapping the City (Conway) describes how cities came to be mapped, and is as gorgeous as it is stimulating. Warren Dockter’s Churchill and…

ickensian in both scope and subject matter, Stephen Jarvis’s Death and Mr Pickwick (Jonathan Cape) was the most remarkable historical fiction debut of 2015. Focusing on the genesis of The Pickwick Papers, the serial novel that transformed Dickens from promising hack writer into national celebrity, Jarvis resurrects the forgotten figure of Robert Seymour, the artist that he claims was the true creator of Pickwick. Mr A vast, sprawling epic, packed with digression and detail, it is a brilliant achievement for a first-time novelist. More established writers produced equally compelling work this year. Pulitzer Prize winner Geraldine Brooks ventures far back into ancient history in The Secret Chord (Little, Brown), her dazzling retelling of the life of the biblical king David. Told in the voice of Natan, court prophet and conscience…

Iberian stories Simon Sebag Montefiore tells us about his series on Spain’s rich – and surprisingly unfamiliar – history “It’s a tale of empires and religion and ‘the struggle of tolerance versus intolerance’” Blood & Gold: The Making of Spain TV BBC Four, scheduled for December Perhaps because so many of us head south for holidays, we tend to assume we’re familiar with Spanish history. Don’t be so sure, says Simon Sebag Montefiore. “People think they know Spain well, and actually not many people do,” he tells BBC History Magazine. If that’s true, Montefiore’s three-part series – which follows the country’s story through to the present day via the Romans, Visigoths, Muslim rule, foreign conquest and the civil war – should help. It’s a tale of empires and religion, a…

Munich is a vivacious city, alive with events and art – but is especially appealing to those with a keen interest in history. This is a city where having fun is taken seriously at all times of year; though known for its beer-fuelled Oktoberfest, in December it hosts some 20 festive markets, including the original Christmas market dating back to at least the 17th century. Munich is also pre-eminently a city of culture, with world-class orchestras and opera, famous art galleries, and architecture ranging from red-brick Gothic through baroque and rococo to neoclassical and avant garde. A short tram ride west of the city centre lies Schloss Nymphenburg, symbolic of the wealth of the Wittelsbach dynasty, rulers of Bavaria for over seven centuries, at the height of their power. Dating…

ROUND BRITAIN 1. What hangs on the wall of the Great Hall, the last remaining part of Winchester Castle? ^ 2. What links Moel Ty Uchaf in Denbighshire, Castlerigg in Cumbria and the Ring of Brodgar on Orkney? 3. It’s in London, was completed in 1884 and runs for 17 miles (27km). What is it? 4. The first FA Cup final in 1872 saw Wanderers beat the Royal Engineers 1–0. Where was the match played? 5. Which Lollard priest was hanged, drawn and quartered in St Albans in July 1381 after taking a prominent part in the Peasants’ Revolt? 6. Britain’s oldest example of what dates from 1909 and can be found in Letchworth Garden City? 7. During the Napoleonic Wars a series of round forts was built along the…

26 December 1825 Tsar Nicholas’s reign begins with a revolt that leaves at least 1,200 dead Grand Duke Constantine’s abdication throws Russian politics into chaos In Russia, 26 December 1825 (14 December, according to the Julian calendar then in use in the country) was the day of the winter solstice. That morning, the sun rose at 9am. In St Petersburg, the atmosphere was heavy with tension. Almost four weeks earlier, the death of Tsar Alexander I had thrown Russian politics into tumult. The acknowledged heir, his brother Grand Duke Constantine, had no intention of taking the throne. Instead the plan was for his younger brother Nicholas to succeed. What followed, however, was chaos. Nicholas tried to back out in favour of Constantine, who himself insisted on abdicating. Late on the…

Some pupils studying A-level history in the UK will be able to learn about the history of Africa before its invasion and occupation by European powers in the 19th century, following the introduction of a new exam syllabus. The course, part of the OCR history syllabus, explores the stories of four kingdoms – Songhay, Kongo, Benin, and Oyo and Dahomey – from 1400 to 1800. Students will also be able to expand their study through independent coursework. “History is a well-taught and popular subject at A-level, but concern has been expressed about the arguably narrow range of topics and periods it covers,” says Mike Goddard, head of history at OCR. “We consulted higher-education historians in the course of developing the syllabus: the Royal Historical Society, for example, stressed that it…

“A tarantula,” declared the Portsmouth Evening News in 1892, “is a large insect of the spider tribe, and its bite is as deadly as that of a rattlesnake.” But why did this matter to that newspaper’s readers? An unusual report had arrived from Las Vegas, of a duel between two young men – an American and a Mexican – who had both fallen in love with the same girl. The Mexican had taunted his rival in front of his friends, declaring that America was a land of cowards. Determined to save face, the American had agreed to test his bravery against his foe’s by entering a dark room in which a number of tarantulas had been released. Whoever emerged alive would claim the girl – but if either of them…

I was interested to read the note on James McCudden in Our First World War (December), which deals with his early days in the Royal Flying Corps. McCudden trained as a fighter pilot in 1916 and subsequently became (in the rank of major) the most highly decorated British flyer of the First World War and indeed British military history – winning the VC, DSO and Bar, MC and Bar and the Military Medal. My stepfather, Archie Sprangle, served as an observer/gunner in 1917–18 with 5 Squadron RFC and was himself decorated with the DFC. He often used to tell me about his own wartime experiences on the western front, and in talking about British air aces he said that McCudden was regarded by himself and brother RFC officers as “simply…

On 17 November 1558 Elizabeth I acceded to the throne of England having been acknowledged as Henry VIII’s heir in her father’s will and testament. Yet for many Catholics in England and abroad, Elizabeth was illegitimate. They saw Mary Stuart, queen of Scotland and legitimate granddaughter of Henry’s sister Margaret Tudor, as the rightful queen of England. One was Henry II, king of France, whose son François was married to Mary. He proclaimed the couple as king and queen of England, and ordered that the royal arms of England be quartered with those of Scotland and France on his niece’s badges and silverware. It was reported that as Mary entered her chapel, gentlemen before her cried “make way for the queen of England”. Elizabeth’s secretary, William Cecil, realised that as…

Mary now began to look for a new husband and negotiations were opened for a match with Don Carlos, son of Philip II of Spain. Elizabeth made clear that she would regard such a marriage as a hostile act. She tried to neutralise the threat by suggesting the Duke of Norfolk, the Earl of Arundel and then, rather bizarrely, her great favourite, and rumoured lover, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. The proposal came to nothing: not only was the intended bridegroom unwilling, but Mary’s attention had instead come to focus on the Catholic Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Darnley was also a grandchild of Margaret Tudor so, like Mary, had a strong claim to the English throne. Their marriage on 29 July 1565 left Mary and Elizabeth’s diplomatic relationship in tatters:…

When Mary landed at Workington (in modern-day Cumbria) on 16 May 1568, Elizabeth was placed in a quandary. She acknowledged the legitimacy of Mary’s position as a fellow monarch and found it hard to countenance the actions of those who would keep Mary from her rightful throne. However, she was also aware that the Earl of Moray was supportive of English Protestant interests, and that Mary’s restoration would mean his destruction. Elizabeth resolved that an inquiry would be held into the conduct of the confederate lords and the question of whether Mary was guilty of Darnley’s murder. As evidence against Mary, Moray presented the so-called casket letters – eight unsigned missives purportedly from Mary to Bothwell – which, he claimed, proved her adultery and her complicity in Darnley’s murder. While…

Thomas Carlyle One of the most celebrated essayists and controversialists of the age, Carlyle criticised the exploitation of factory workers and posed the ‘Condition of England’ question about the dehumanisation of the poor. However, he also venerated a “genuine aristocracy” of great men who could, historically and in the future, rule authoritatively for the common good. Charles Dickens The author drew attention to the plight of the British poor in his popular serialised stories such as Oliver Twist (1837-39), but he did not extend that sympathy to black Jamaicans. Though he criticised slavery in his American Notes (1842), he was strongly influenced by his mentor, Carlyle, in mocking philanthropists who sent charity to Africa while ignoring suffering at home. Rev Charles Kingsley Kingsley (left) was regius professor of modern history…

In 1898 a Swedish emigrant called Olof Ohman made a sensational discovery on his farm near Kensington, Minnesota. It was a flat stone with a runic inscription: “Eight Goths and 22 Norwegians on an exploration journey from Vinland to the west. We had camp by two skerries one day’s journey north from this stone. We were out [to] fish. One day after we came home [we] found 10 men red of blood and dead. AVM Save [us] from evil. [We] have 10 men by the sea to look after our ships 14 days’ travel from this island. [In the year] 1362.” On closer examination the runes turned out to be a mixture of types used from the 9th to the 11th century, and homemade symbols. The language used was the…

The most familiar images of Victorian life are bleak indeed: impoverished children working long hours in factories and mines; blankets of smog suspended above overcrowded cities; frightening workhouses run by cruel governors; violent criminals lurking in the shadows. In black-and-white photos of the period, people both high and low-born are invariably unsmiling – a miserable bunch, surely? There is some truth in this portrayal. The twin processes of industrialisation and urbanisation did force a drop in living standards for some, and the turbulent decade after Queen Victoria came to the throne became known as the ‘Hungry Forties’. These years were punctuated by economic depression leading to social unrest, popular protests and growing fears of revolution. Such impressions can be explained by the collision of three unique…

“Every year we receive hundreds of books in the office, and 2015 has been no exception. How, then, to make sense of this mass of material? We have taken a twin approach, asking experts in a diverse range of historical fields – from the ancient world and the Tudor period to 20th-century and social history – to choose their top books, and other authors, historians and broadcasters to select their single favourite. So whether you want to try something new, delve further into a particular historical period, or are simply looking for a perfect historical present, you will find here the very best that the year has had to offer. And, if you (whisper it) want a break from all that reading, we have also looked back at the TV…

Suzannah Lipscomb My book of the year is Saul David’s phenomenal Operation Thunderbolt (Hodder & Stoughton), an outstandingly good, compelling read. Telling the story of the hijacking of Flight 139 and the Entebbe hostage rescue of 1976 as if in real time, it draws on extensive research and imaginative reconstruction. Very highly recommended. Suzannah Lipscomb is the author of The King is Dead: The Last Will and Testament of Henry VIII (Head of Zeus, 2015) Richard Davenport-Hines Andrew Lownie’s Stalin’s Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess (Hodder & Stoughton) is a rich combination of spy story, cultural history, social outrage and character portrait. Several recent biographies with an espionage angle have seemed to me despicable in their sensationalism and gullibility, but Lownie instead writes with scepticism, decency and a sharp…

agna Carta and the battle of Agincourt have dominated headlines in what has been something of an anniversary year for medieval history, leading to a glut of new books on both crucial events in England’s past. Yet in a crowded field, some fine new books stand out. Marc Morris’s magisterial biography, King John: Treachery, Tyranny and the Road to Magna Carta (Hutchinson) will surely become the book of choice on this fated reign for years to come, while David Carpenter’s Magna Carta (Penguin Classics) combines a new version of the hallowed document itself with 500 pages of insightful commentary, and will prove the standard edition of the text. Henry V’s victory at Agincourt is recounted in the superb Cursed Kings (Faber & Faber), the fourth volume of Jonathan Sumption’s epic…

ooks on social history are a varied breed, taking in anything that can tell us about how life was lived in the past. Jacky Colliss Harvey’s Red: A Natural History of the Redhead (Allen and Unwin) does just this by exploring the tangled 50,000-year history of red hair and its changing cultural significance. Although viewed with suspicion, it seems that women tended to wear it slightly better than men, from Mary Magdalen to Elizabeth I and the beauties of the pre-Raphaelite era. Suspicion and fascination also feature heavily in Through the Keyhole: Sex, Scandal and the Secret Life of the Country House (The History Press), Susan Law’s examination of the sexual indiscretions of the wealthy and powerful. The Georgians were no less curious about what the upper echelons were getting…

It may not yet be the end of the year, but we’re already looking ahead to the highlights of the next 12 months. In our January issue, I’ll be talking to Lara Feigel about The Bitter Taste of Victory (Bloomsbury), her look at the importance of culture in the dying days of Nazi Germany. I’ll also be meeting up with Simon Sebag Montefiore to discuss The Romanovs, 1613–1918 (W&N), his account of the rise and fall of a dynasty. We’ll have the usual expert reviews, too, with the first issues of of the year exploring books including the late David Cesarani’s Final Solution: The Fate of the Jews, 1933–1949 (Macmillan) and Simon Hall’s 1956: The World in Revolt (Faber and Faber). Firmly in the ‘epic history’ camp, Peter H Wilson’s…

BEST TIME TO GO Every season has plenty to offer visitors. Summer is best for sitting in street cafes and beer gardens, while the city gets busy with Oktoberfest attendees from mid-September. Christmas markets run from late November to Christmas Eve. GETTING THERE Various airlines fly direct to Munich from several UK airports in around two hours. WHAT TO TAKE Gloves, a scarf and a hat are advisable in winter; summers are warmer than in the UK but a raincoat is worth packing, because heavy rain is common. WHAT TO BRING BACK A Keferloher, a barrel-shaped stoneware beer mug. READERS’ VIEWS The Deutsches Museum is extraordinary… Summers simply relaxing in Marienplatz… a shopping spree of the Christmas markets with a few sips of glühwein is marvellous Reena Nand Gupta Munich…

Henry V was king of England from 1413–22, the second monarch from the House of Lancaster. The teenage prince gained valuable military experience in the campaigns against Owain Glyndwr during the Welsh revolt, and was nearly killed by an arrow at the battle of Shrewsbury in 1403. On becoming king, he resumed hostilities with France in the Hundred Years’ War, defeating the French at Agincourt in 1415, and coming close to conquering the country. He was the first king to use English in his personal correspondence since the Norman Conquest, and encouraged its use in government. He died in 1422. When did you first hear about Henry V? Long ago, back in the mists of time! In my childhood, for sure – but I learnt more about him at university…