The Hapsburgs and the French Revolution
Upon the outbreak of the French Revolution, Europe's first family, the Hapsburg, were propelled into a crisis that they struggled to contain.
1923: A Punt Gun
We look at a strange, divisive and forgotten weapon that was banned in the USA but tolerated in Great Britain.
★ EDITOR'S PICKS
1917: Johnny Reynolds, 'Human Fly', Thrills Crowd
On Wednesday 5 September 1917, the daredevil climber Johnny Reynolds performed in Washington D.C.
A Very Private Life – Nikolai Tolstoy Remembers Patrick O’Brian
We look back at the life of the 'greatest historical novelist of all time'
Samuel Johnson and the Perils of Hope
On the anniversary of Johnson's birth, Peter Moore considers a subject that deeply engaged the great writer.
Bookshelf
New History Books for March 2026
From Silence to the Battle of Trafalgar, King Henry VII to Adolf Hitler
New History Books for February 2026
From the Samurais to the Fascists, Charlotte Brontë to Daniel Defoe
New History Books for January 2026
From the Footlights to the Baltic, the Declaration of Independence to Suleiman the Magnificent
Our Favourite History Books of 2025
From earthquakes to aeroplanes, Picasso to Thomas More, here are ten of our favourite history books, published over the past year
Features
The Hapsburgs and the French Revolution
Upon the outbreak of the French Revolution, Europe's first family, the Hapsburg, were propelled into a crisis that they struggled to contain.
1923: A Punt Gun
We look at a strange, divisive and forgotten weapon that was banned in the USA but tolerated in Great Britain.
Politics and the Past: A Spring Update from Unseen Histories
In President Trump's eyes the British Prime Minister 'is no Winston Churchill'. But is that such a bad thing?
Interviews
Measuring the Mind
David Brydan, the author of Smart, explains how our ideas about human intelligence have changed over time.
The Killing Age with Clifton Crais
One of the great terrors of the Enlightenment lay in the way it justified death as the cost of progress. Clifton Crais explains his view of 'the Killing Age'
Mad Tom's Rising with Ian Breckon
The author Ian Breckon recalls one of the most peculiar revolts in English history
Meeting the Mavericks with Nick Higham
Nick Higham tells us about his vibrant cast of British servicemen who fought to save Baku from the Turks in 1918
Snapshot
1923: A Punt Gun
We look at a strange, divisive and forgotten weapon that was banned in the USA but tolerated in Great Britain.
1877: Recruiting Sergeants in Westminster
By the mid-Victorian Age people were beginning to look at recruiting sergeants with fresh eyes