Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2017 i History Extra

“Oliver Cromwell remains one of Britain’s most controversial historical figures, but few can argue with his reputation as a formidable military commander, both on and off the battlefield. On page 22, Martyn Bennett charts Cromwell’s meteoric rise from obscure country gentleman to battle-winning leader – all in the space of two years. Many of you may have already tuned in to the BBC’s new drama series Taboo, which explores the darker side of the East India Company. Turn to page 37 to read Jon Wilson’s take on how the international trading giant came to rule over much of India – a conquest that, he argues, soured relations between the two countries for 350 years. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for gift inspiration for your loved one this Valentine’s Day, turn to…

For most of his short life, Britannicus, the son of the Roman emperor Claudius, lived under the darkest of clouds. His mother Messalina had been executed when he was a little boy and his new stepmother, Agrippina, brought with her a son, the future Nero, whom Claudius adopted as his heir. When Claudius died unexpectedly in October 54, it was Nero who succeeded him, supported by the Senate and the army. Britannicus was just 13 years old. But he must have known that, as a potential rival, his position was very dicey indeed. According to some chroniclers, Britannicus’s fate was sealed after only a few months, when Agrippina fell out with her own son Nero and threatened to support his stepbrother instead. The historian Tacitus claimed that after Nero’s first…

“The speech was as full of contradictions as Khrushchev himself. Assessments of the man differ widely: Stalinist, ideologue, Communist liberal, sorcerer’s apprentice, hare-brained fool. The speech was narrowly political, designed to reinforce his position in a struggle with leaders even more directly implicated in Stalin’s terror. It was also an appeal to party barons – the few thousand delegates to the party congress. It offered them personal security against the excesses of a future tyrant. Khrushchev did not criticise mass repression, including the lethal terror directed against the peasantry during the collectivisation drive of the 1920s. He did not question the way his predecessor came to power, and he made no attempt to ‘rehabilitate’ Stalin’s early opponents. He certainly did not criticise Leninism. And yet Khrushchev subverted a mind-set that…

How and where were the recipes discovered? Following the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII, several English Benedictine monasteries were founded in mainland Europe, populated by a steady stream of Catholic men who went into exile. One of these was St Laurence’s, which was established at Dieulouard in eastern France, in 1608. In 1793, several of the monks were imprisoned during the French Revolution. After their release they fled to England and settled at what is now Ampleforth Abbey in Yorkshire. It was here I discovered the recipes dating back to the community’s days in France. Was it common for monks to drink alcohol at this time? Yes – and so did nuns. Beer was particularly popular. This was partly because the cleanliness of water couldn’t be guaranteed. It…

“For decades, providing care for older people has been regarded as the poor relation of other healthcare services” PAT THANE Today’s crisis in care for older people has two main causes: the growing numbers of people living longer with increasingly complex needs, relying on a system that has long been the poor relation of national health and social care services. Current services originate in two key postwar measures: the NHS and the 1948 National Assistance Act. This required local authorities to provide residential accommodation for older people, supervise care homes run by independent organisations, provide home and community services, including meals, day centres and home helps, or to subsidise other providers. The NHS was free and wholly publicly provided, to deliver the best healthcare for all. No such vision guided…

Undermining peace? I take issue with the viewpoint expressed in Colin Bullen’s letter (‘Revise the Grand Alliance?’, Letters, January). The undeniable reality is that peace in Europe for much of the 19th century and since 1945 was the result of Euro-centric systems (albeit also involving non-European states), the obvious examples being the EU (as it became) and Nato. The Brexit decision and the election of Donald Trump are likely to cause the undermining and unravelling of systems of co-operation and defence that have, together, promoted peace and stability since 1945, and may encourage the destabilising actions of Putinist Russia. Rather than ushering in some reinvention of the Second World War Grand Alliance and a resuscitation of imperial arrangements with Commonwealth countries – which have long gone their own way in…

“It’s what happens at the grass roots that makes history tick” “I was first drawn to local history by reading William Hoskins’s book The Making of the English Landscape (first published in 1955 and still in print today). A few years ago I made a TV series that was a homage to Hoskins, taking one village and its landscape through English history. When you pitch this sort of thing to the TV commissioners their eyes go misty as they imagine a cross between Ambridge from The Archers and a Hovis advert: thatched cottages, winding lanes, a baker’s boy on a bike. The place we chose, Kibworth in Leicestershire, wasn’t that. Though surrounded by countryside, it lies on the A6, halfway between Harborough and Leicester, with new build estates and Chinese…

A dozen days before Christmas 1474, a 23-year-old, green-eyed woman with light auburn hair processed in her finest clothes through the chilly, windswept streets of the Spanish city of Segovia. A handsomely dressed gentleman walked before her with the royal sword held upright by its point. The young woman was Isabella of Castile – who owed her eye-colour to an English grandmother, Catherine of Lancaster. Her dazzling clothes exuded magnificence, while the sword spoke of violence and a willingness to use it. The scene was remarkable for two reasons. Firstly, this was a usurper’s pre-emptive coup – part of a ceremony in which Isabella had herself proclaimed queen. Secondly, she was a woman. “Some of those in the crowd muttered that they had never seen such a thing,” one contemporary…

“Now, I thought, was my opportunity. I banged on a fresh drum and fired it all at him at about 50 yards range” James McCudden James had joined the Royal Engineers as a boy bugler in 1910. In 1913 he transferred into the Royal Flying Corps as a mechanic. He qualified as a pilot in 1916 and shot down his first aircraft in September. He became a 2nd lieutenant at the end of 1916. Serving in 29 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, McCudden spent a great number of hours aloft in his DH2 scout plane. He was determined to master his grim profession. “The weather still continued very clear, cold and frosty, and every day I was up, waiting about over our lines for Hun two-seaters to come across after I…

One day in the 1840s a young woman was talking to her neighbour in a genteel villa on the outskirts of Coventry. At one point in the conversation the 20-something Mary Ann Evans stretched out her right hand to demonstrate how much bigger it was than her left. The reason, she explained proudly, was that she had spent her teenage years making butter and cheese on her father’s farm. All that vigorous turning of the butter churn, not to mention squeezing of the cheese curds, had built up the muscles in her right hand so that it had become permanently enlarged. The story might have slipped into obscurity, were it not for the fact that Mary Ann Evans would go on to become one of the most famous women of…

How Shakespeare Put Politics on the Stage: Power and Succession in the History Plays by Peter Lake Yale University Press, 688 pages, £25 There can be little doubt that Shakespeare’s 10 history plays – ranging from the early maverick Richard III to the anti-papist King John and the abdication play Richard II, used for propaganda during the so-called Essex rebellion – reflect an intense interest in English history arising from a post-Reformation national concern with identity. In this huge, chronologically structured study, Peter Lake coalesces the English histories with Shakespeare’s Roman plays to argue that the history plays reflect a distinct trace left by the real political manoeuvrings of the period, and he provides a wealth of historical information to underpin his case. He endorses the view, argued by others,…

A History of Ancient Egypt: from the Great Pyramid to the Fall of the Middle Kingdom by John Romer Allen Lane, 672 pages, £30 John Romer had a very profound effect on me as a teenager, his earlier books Romer’s Egypt and Ancient Lives, accompanied by memorable television series, introducing new and fascinating aspects of ancient Egypt. He was a trailblazer who didn’t just focus on a royal elite, but talked about the ‘real’ Egyptians all too often ignored by the Egyptological establishment. And this new book continues in much the same vein, its press release explaining that it “shows what we can really learn from the remaining architecture, objects and writing: a history based on physical reality”. Yet, despite the claim that “much of what we have been taught…

The history of agriculture, contends British Farming – From the Ground Up (Radio 4, February), is the story both of the nation and its relationship with Europe. Over 10 weekday episodes it tackles such subjects as wartime rationing, 1970s butter mountains and Brexit. Elsewhere on Radio 4, forthcoming editions of In Our Time (Thursday 2 February) consider political theorist Hannah Arendt (1906–75), the life and poetry of John Clare (1793–1864), mathematics in the Islamic Golden Age, and Roman philosopher Seneca. Costing the Earth (Tuesday 7 February) asks how the forcible movement of First Nation people from traditional lands in western Canada impacts on the lives of their descendents. Open Country (Thursday 2 February) focuses on the Mildenhall Treasure, a fabulous hoard of Roman silver found in Suffolk in 1942. The…

EXHIBITION Robots Science Museum, London 8 February–3 September 0333 241 4000 • sciencemuseum.org.uk Explore the 400-year history of robots in the context of religious beliefs, popular culture, the industrial revolution and much more. Some 100 humanoid robots will be on display – from a 16th-century mechanical monk to the latest working models – and visitors will discover how robots could engage with humans in the future. EVENTS BBC History Magazine’s Victorian and Second World War Days MShed, Bristol 25 and 26 February 0871 620 4021 (booking line) • historyextra.com/events A host of eminent speakers – including Saul David, Jane Ridley, Laurence Rees and Yasmin Khan – discuss aspects of Victorian Britain and the Second World War. On Saturday evening you can also book tickets to hear historian Bettany…

BEST TIME TO GO April to October, though August can be very hot. In October, the Gibunco Gibraltar International Literary Festival is held, with a line-up that includes several historians. GETTING THERE Easyjet, Monarch and British Airways fly from several airports to Gibraltar. You can also walk across the border from La Linea in Spain. Buses in Gibraltar are cheap and frequent. WHERE TO STAY The O’Callaghan Eliott Hotel is right in the town centre, close to the Garrison Library, and is named after George Augustus Eliott, governor of Gibraltar during the Great Siege. The Rock Hotel, built in 1932, is more elevated, with wonderful views across the Bay of Gibraltar. WHAT TO PACK Sturdy footwear, binoculars and a head for heights. WHAT TO BRING BACK Most souvenirs have a…

Roman honey cakes I’ve often been curious about what Roman men and women might have eaten to satisfy a sweet tooth. Luckily, a recipe for honey cakes has survived, recorded by Roman statesman Cato the Elder in his c160 BC work De agri cultura. Cato’s original recipe was known as ‘placenta cake’ (though it’s probably best not to think about that while you eat them!) Various versions of the recipe exist, some including eggs, but we’ve chosen a simple version close to Cato’s original. INGREDIENTS Shortcrust pastry: 225g plain flour 100g butter, diced 2–3tbsp water pinch of salt Filling: 250g ricotta cheese 5 tbsp honey Chopped nuts or pine nuts (optional) METHOD To make shortcrust pastry, sift flour into a large bowl, add the butter and rub with your fingertips…

Kathryn Hughes We tend to think of the Victorians as keen to hide troublesome flesh under crinolines and fancy waistcoats. But during the 19th century, people became obsessed with their physical selves. The current selfie generation has got nothing on its great-great-great grandparents. • Kathryn discusses Victorian bodies Martyn Bennett Cromwell’s early military career presents an enigma, but looking at the way he contextualised and fought his early battles we can understand how he quickly learned his craft. • Martyn reveals Cromwell’s military genius Giles Tremlett My life-long fascination with Spain led me to Isabella of Castile, the queen who first brought its fractious parts together. Much of Spain’s subsequent history is explained by the remarkable reign of the most powerful woman Europe had ever seen. • Giles introduces Isabella…

It’s been revealed that the current craze for the ‘Mannequin Challenge’ – where groups of people strike a pose on camera, as if life has stopped still – actually has its roots in the Victorian era. ‘Tableaux vivants’ (living pictures), such as that shown in this image from c1898, were popular forms of entertainment during the 19th century. People would endeavour to recreate a famous scene from history, literature or art, and ‘freeze’ in the pose for their guests to observe and admire.…

Peter Field suspects he has found the ‘true’ location of King Arthur’s Camelot: a small Roman fort, once named Camulodunum, at Slack on the outskirts of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. “I believe I may have solved a 1,400-year-old mystery,” he says. Field, a retired Bangor University professor and expert in Arthurian literature, believes that ‘Camelot’ could be a corruption of Camulodunum, the Roman name for Slack (the ‘fortress of Camulos’). He also argues that, despite being abandoned by AD 500, Slack would once have been strategically significant to Celtic-speaking Britons attempting to resist Anglo-Saxon invaders. Its location on the Roman road from Chester to York made it an ideal spot from which to defend the east coast. Miles Russell, senior lecturer in archaeology at Bournemouth University, comments: “There are problems…

In Michael Scott’s article about the history of Sicily (God, Gangs and Garibaldi, January) he tells us of the Italian Giuseppe Garibaldi’s fame in Britain because of his bid to unify Italy, and gives the example of the invention of the Garibaldi biscuit to show how highly regarded he was here during the 1860s. But did you also know that two of our most famous football clubs also owe Garibaldi a debt of gratitude for the famous jerseys they wear today? Nottingham Forest was formed by a group of local sporting enthusiasts in 1865, all of whom were supporters of Garibaldi. Consequently, to this day Forest players wear red shirts in recognition of those worn by Garibaldi’s fighters. And when Arsenal was formed a few years later – without the…

In the early evening of 2 July 1644, two powerful armies faced each other across an expanse of wild meadow eight miles west of York. On one side was gathered a royalist force led by King’s Charles I’s German nephew, Prince Rupert, and the Marquis of Newcastle. On the other, occupying a ridge known as Bramham Hill, stood an allied army of parliamentarians and Scottish covenanters. At about 7pm, with a storm approaching and light slowly beginning to fade, the royalists decided that there was no prospect of a battle that day, and started to stack arms, find food and unsaddle horses. Yet, just as they began to settle down for the night, their enemies struck. On the western fringe of the battlefield, Lieutenant General Oliver Cromwell led three lines…

Elizabeth I Decisive, but wielded little global influence Perhaps Elizabeth’s (1533–1603) greatest feat was to keep England out of the grasp of the ever-expanding Spanish empire. In 1588, Phillip II, Isabella of Castile’s great-grandson, launched his disastrous Spanish Armada as a crusade to return England to Rome’s obedience. England had long been losing continental territory. Yet Elizabeth’s reign reinforced national identity and institutions that would eventually help Britain take the baton of empire from Spain. Maria Theresa of Austria She bolstered the ailing Habsburg empire Maria Theresa (1717–80) had 16 children and ruled for 40 years. She lost Silesia but shored up the Habsburg empire based on Austria and Hungary – and which stretched from Transylvania to Milan – by refloating a bankrupt government and reinforcing a diminished army. She…

What was it like to be a pretty woman with no front teeth in the 1850s? Or to be plagued by migraines in the days before effective painkillers? How did our Victorian ancestors react when a middle-aged lawyer reappeared in the office after a short holiday with the beginnings of a fashionable beard? In all-too many cases, we’ll never know. Historical biographies have traditionally focused all their attention on their subjects’ literary gifts, their feats in battle, or their blighted love affairs. But they’ve ignored the question of how these people looked, moved, smelt or sounded. By the end of even the most detailed life story, it can be hard to know whether our hero’s (or villain’s) eyes were green or blue, or whether they mostly used their right hand…

In an age without antibiotics and only rudimentary surgery, many Victorians lived with minor disabilities. In 1842 the politician William Gladstone shattered the forefinger of his left hand during a shooting party in north Wales. Returning home, the young man’s finger was amputated by Dr Harrison of Chester. For the rest of his long public life, which included four stints as prime minister, Gladstone was obliged to wear a black sheath or fingerstall where his missing digit used to be. The Victorian age, though, demanded that its Great Men look like heroes. Politicians might no longer be required to lead the country’s troops into battle, but any bodily weakness suggested a worrying vulnerability, which slipped into anxiety about the health of the nation as a whole. For that reason, the…

Jonathan Swift: The Reluctant Rebel by John Stubbs Penguin, 752 pages, £25 Jonathan Swift’s acid wit is legendary. To cite one example from John Stubbs’ excellent biography, when stuck in Holyhead waiting for a ship back to Ireland, Swift declared: “Whoever would wish to live long should live here, for a day is longer than a week, and if the weather be foul, as long as a fortnight.” The sources of Swift’s character – his evident disgust at human physicality, his misanthropy, and especially his relationships with women – have long fascinated biographers and have often been attributed to various psychological disorders. While Stubbs occasionally nods towards pathological/medical explanations – he suggests that Swift might now be regarded as someone on the autistic spectrum and that labyrinthine vertigo probably explains…

Augustine: Conversions and Confessions by Robin Lane Fox Allen Lane, 672 pages, £12.99 For Robin Lane Fox, Augustine’s Confessions are a prayer “from start to finish” and one “which no Christian, before or since, has equalled”. They are also a prayer “intended to be overheard by readers” and the influence of Augustine’s account of his early life and spiritual journey, his musings on sinfulness and the soul, have had an extraordinarily profound impact down the centuries. In this wonderful study, Lane Fox offers compelling and sometimes daring accounts of the Confessions’ maturation and composition: he bucks the scholarly trend, for example, by seeing them as “one of antiquity’s most remarkable bursts of verbal activity” rather than a work that took four or more years to complete. Lane Fox’s provision of…

“You only have an intense idea of England when you have an intense idea of things trying to extinguish it” The English Fix RADIO Radio 4, scheduled for February The Brexit referendum brought the question of what it means to be English to the forefront of debates. Writer Patrick Wright concludes that it’s an identity the English don’t much think about – until they see England as somehow being challenged. “The idea of England is seen in relief against vividly imagined threats,” he says, “so you only have an intense idea of England when you have an intense idea of things trying to extinguish it.” His new three-part series looks at “moments when the idea of England is being championed in opposition to modern forms of transformation”: the agrarian revolution…

Robin’s exploits have captivated audiences since the Middle Ages and Nottingham Castle has played a starring role Robin Hood is everywhere in Nottingham. You can take a ride in a Robin Hood taxi, sup an ale in a Robin Hood pub, ride a motorbike from Robin Hood Harley-Davidson and flex your muscles in Robin Hood Gymnastics Club. You can even send your children to Robin Hood Primary School. Yet nowhere in this east Midlands city does the great medieval outlaw feel closer to hand than in the grand building that sits atop a cliff right in the middle of the town centre: Nottingham Castle. Robin Hood is surely the most celebrated outlaw in history. His adventures have been captivating audiences since the depths of the Middle Ages. And, for much…

EXHIBITION Electricity: The Spark of Life Wellcome Collection, London 23 February–25 June 020 7611 2222 • wellcomecollection.org Tracing the story of mankind’s quest to understand, and harness, the power of electricity, the Wellcome Collection’s most recent exhibition shows the importance of electricity to life and as an inspiration to inventors, scientists, writers and artists over the centuries. The fascination with electricity can be traced back as far as the ancient Greeks and early encounters with natural phenomenon such as lightning and the Aurora Borealis. During the 18th century, as the exhibition reveals, scientists sought to reveal the physical presence of static electricity, and it was during this period that the first devices designed to generate an electric charge were invented. Nineteenth-century attempts to harness, convert and store electricity will also…

1. Who went shopping in Badin’s cutlery shop in Paris on 13 July 1793? 2. What links A History of the World by Sir Walter Ralegh, Fanny Hill by John Cleland and De Profundis by Oscar Wilde? 3. Who was Mercedes Adrienne Romana Manuela Jellinek (left)? 4. Which town was the de facto capital of Wales from the 15th century until 1689? 5. How did Mayflower pilgrim Dorothy Bradford meet her death on 17 December 1620? 6. Which well-travelled fictional character is described as having been educated here? QUIZ ANSWERS 1. Charlotte Corday, for the knife she used to stab French revolutionary leader Jean-Paul Marat. 2. They were written in prison. 3. She was the daughter of German automobile entrepreneur Emil Jellinek, who named his Mercedes cars after her. 4.…

Clement Attlee was leader of the Labour government that swept to power in the 1945 general election. He was also deputy prime minster of Churchill’s wartime coalition from 1942–45. As prime minister (1945–51), he oversaw the creation of the National Health Service and the welfare state – and the nationalisation of coal mining, the railways, the steel industry and the utilities. His government also began the postwar decolonisation of the British empire and in 1947 granted India independence. He retired as leader of the Labour party, and entered the House of Lords as 1st Earl Attlee, in 1955. When did you first hear about Clement Attlee? As a schoolgirl. My Labour-supporting family were always interested in politics so I first heard about him through my parents. But the teachers at…

1 The burial complex was found by accident In March 1974, farmers digging a well in a field about 20 miles east of Xi’an struck a life-size clay soldier. The figure was found to be one of more than 8,000 terracotta warriors, created as an afterlife army for China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, who died in 210 BC. 2 The complex took decades to build Qin Shi Huang’s tomb complex spreads for around 38 square miles and is thought to have taken 700,000 workers more than 30 years to build. The four excavated pits are just the tip of the iceberg; experts have identified around 600 pits, most of which remain untouched. 3 The pits contain more than just soldiers The Chinese emperor wanted to surround himself with all…

Earliest humans ate raw meat Analysis of dental plaque from a 1.2-million-year-old hominin (early human) excavated in northern Spain indicates Europe’s earliest humans did not use fire for cooking. Fibres in the plaque were uncharred and contained traces of raw animal tissue. Robert Bruce ‘had leprosy’ The recently reconstructed face of medieval Scottish king Robert Bruce has revealed telltale signs of leprosy, including a disfigured jaw and nose. The discovery could explain the mystery illness that affected the king at various points throughout his reign. Millions of pounds needed to restore Scottish heritage sites Historic Environment Scotland has estimated that the cost of protecting and restoring Scottish heritage sites, such as Skara Brae on Orkney, could be as much as £65m over the next 10 years. Mein Kampf…

We could almost call Edward VIII Britain’s lost king, after his love affair with Wallis Simpson caused him to give up the throne within a year of becoming king. It was one of the greatest royal scandals in history as the good-looking and much loved great-grandson of Queen Victoria chose to pursue true love rather than his duty to the crown. But his rejection of tradition was evident throughout his life. In the roaring twenties, when he was only heir to the throne and Prince of Wales, Edward was constantly in the papers for his adventures and occasional mishaps. He was one of the earliest celebrities and the reports on who he met, what he did and what he wore were a perfect distraction for a society trying to leave…

@HistoryExtra: Are TV history shows for the chop? Lorraine Jones What? Give these programmes the chop so there’s more viewing time for reality shows featuring egocentric people dating, singing, cooking and generally being melodramatic? Great @HelenPins There have been two series in 2016 about Henry’s wives, which seems like overkill on an already well-known subject @kioshnu Disagree. Even in saturated areas there are always new insights, interesting part academic debate & interpretation Andrea de Lange Would like to see other historical TV series. I think Lord Nelson or the Duke of Wellington would make excellent drama, or what about Queen Anne? Britain is more than the Tudors and Queen Victoria @sarahkendle History shows will survive. However, they need to find new topics and approaches to history Andrew Ellis We have…

The first 15 years of King Charles I’s reign were marked by growing disaffection across his kingdom at his religious policies – some Protestants feared that he intended to restore the Catholic faith to England – and his apparent determination to rule without recourse to parliament. By the early 1640s, the gulf between the king’s royalist supporters and his parliamentarian opponents had become a chasm, and conflict appeared inevitable. When war broke out, in August 1642, a broadly royalist north and west of England was ranged against a chiefly parliamentarian south and east. Neither side gained a decisive advantage in the early months of the war, with the first pitched battle – at Edgehill in Warwickshire – proving inconclusive. But in 1643, directing the royalist war effort from his base…

In 1866, Charles Darwin, who had spent the past few years nursing his poor health in the countryside, made a rare appearance at a Royal Society soirée. Already world-famous as the author of the game-changing On the Origin of Species , Darwin was mortified to discover that no one in that distinguished gathering of scientists had a clue who he was. Indeed, he was obliged to go up to old friends and announce his name, an embarrassment for such a shy man. No social snub was intended. It was simply that the last time anyone had seen Darwin in public he had been clean-shaven, give or take some heavy ‘mutton chop’ whiskers. Now, though, he was sporting a bushy grey beard that covered his familiar pudgy features…

While there has always been heated discussion about what the Brontë sisters looked like, everyone agrees that their brother Branwell was a flaming redhead. Contemporaries describe the diminutive young man as having a “mass of red hair”, carefully brushed upwards to make him look taller. Branwell’s famously tragic life – he failed both as a painter and a writer and was sacked from jobs as a tutor and railway employee – was to a large degree down to his own bad behaviour. After a string of personal disappointments, including an abortive affair with his married employer, he sunk into dependence on alcohol and opiates and died at the age of just 31. But what perhaps has never been considered is the way that gingerism – a prejudice against people with…

The Iron Hand of Mars Lindsey Davis (1992) In the fourth of the well-known series of books featuring the Roman private investigator Marcus Didius Falco, Lindsey Davis’s appealing anti-hero is dispatched to the dark and dismal forests of Germania to undertake a special mission for Vespasian. Confrontations with warlike tribesmen and a charismatic Celtic priestess follow, as Falco seeks to fulfil his assignment by brokering peace between the Romans and the Celts and tracking down a high-ranking military man who has gone missing. Hero of Rome Douglas Jackson (2010) In recently conquered Britannia, Roman rule is under threat and the warrior queen Boudicca leads a bloody rebellion. The centurion Gaius Valerius Verrens wins fame and the honour of becoming a ‘Hero of Rome’ by leading his men in a last…

1 Ely CAMBRIDGESHIRE Where Hereward defied William I Ely found itself at the eye of one of the great Anglo-Saxon rebellions against Norman rule – led by Hereward the Wake who, some historians believe, may be an inspiration for the Robin Hood story. Ely Cathedral is well worth a visit. visitely.org.uk 2 Dover Castle KENT Where the French were assailed It was at Dover Castle that William Kensham, who Sean McGlynn has put forward as a possible historical Robin Hood, enjoyed one of his finest hours. In 1217, William pounced on invading French forces as they prepared to attack the fortification, earning himself the status of an English hero. english-heritage.org.uk 3 Whittington Castle SHROPSHIRE Where a Norman rebel resided A third candidate for the title of historical Robin Hood is…

“The Rock of Gibraltar is a dramatic, almost intimidating presence: a steep limestone ridge rising to almost 1,400 feet” Each year hundreds of thousands of tourists visit Gibraltar on short breaks, but we recommend a longer stay. There are all kinds of historical remains to be seen here, but military history enthusiasts will be in paradise. From the sea, and even more so from the nearby shores of Spain, the Rock of Gibraltar is a dramatic, almost intimidating presence: a steep limestone ridge rising to almost 1,400 feet, with many vertical cliffs, set on a peninsula some three miles long and a mile wide. Gibraltar’s strategic significance as a natural fortress is enhanced by its position at the narrow entrance to the Mediterranean from the Atlantic. For centuries, one set…