History
Journey of discovery: Beginning Middle End, by Valeria Luisella, reviewed
On a road trip to Sicily, a recent divorcee and her daughter make a new start of sorts, but one fringed by darkness both past and present
All aboard for Paisley: a trip round unloved Britain
Chris Moss sings the praises of many ‘improbable, bypassed’ towns, finding beauty in the unlikeliest places
The Smithsonian hates America
In the extensive coverage of this year’s July 4 celebrations in Washington, DC, it was often mentioned that 850,000 fireworks…
The truth about how the British Empire is taught in schools
William Dalrymple says that children ‘don’t learn’ about the British Empire at school. It is an ‘elephant in the room’,…
America is still an English country
Americans have been enjoined, as we approach our country’s 250th anniversary, to be a bit more grateful. Good advice. It…
David Abulafia was a rare, truth-seeking historian
Death arrives on a day just like any other, often rudely unheralded. We all know that, but it never ceases…
Only divine intervention can save Labour
A party that can foretell the future stands a very good chance of success. Given Labour’s record of U-turns, they…
How the ancients anticipated the apocalypse
What with the threat of global warming and nuclear war, the new year might start with a big bang. The…
What the newspapers reported in ancient Rome
Nero’s personal amphitheatre, recently discovered near the Vatican, was praised to the skies in the ancient Romans’ ‘newspaper’. The historian…
The pedant’s progress through history
The pompous know-it-all despised by classical philosophers became a stock comic character of 16th-century theatre – and finally a bore to be pitied
Is ‘wind drought’ the latest climate catastrophe?
In an enjoyable guide to wind-related topics, Simon Winchester reports that terrestrial wind speeds are mysteriously declining and we are now in the grip of ‘the Great Stilling’
The Romans would have known that AI can’t replace architects
Architects are thrilled about AI, confident that it will take us into an exciting new world at the flick of…
How to succeed, Roman-style
Whatever Prince Andrew has done, the succession to our throne is secure. How envious the Roman emperor Augustus would have…
Cicero’s tips for the Labour party
Labour may be in a bit of a mess, but Cicero (d. 43 bc) has some top tips. ‘Let conscience…
Angela Rayner and the ancient question of ‘good judgment’
Angela Rayner has returned to the back benches because, as housing secretary, she failed to follow the rules relating to…
Alchemy – the ultimate fool’s errand
Secretive, expensive and doomed to failure, the business of turning base metal to gold nevertheless occupied scholars for centuries
The ancient Greek take on human rights
While Greek and Roman thinkers were influential in developing ideas such as citizenship, justice and equality, the notion of universal…
The ancient dangers of ‘proscription’
‘Proscription’ appears to be the current word of the month. But what does it mean? The Latin scribo means ‘I…
How the Spartans got fighting fit
Donald Trump has brought back the Presidential Fitness Test for American children, once used in state schools to gauge young…
How ‘cosmopolitan’ is Lord Hermer?
The Telegraph reports that Attorney General Lord Hermer has ‘been accused of asserting the primacy of human rights law over…
The race against Hitler to build the first nuclear bomb
The bomb was necessary to the Allies, but still horrified those responsible for its development – many of them refugees from Nazism
What Seneca would have made of the assisted dying bill
Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying bill has generated much talk about the ethics of suicide. As far as the ancients were…
Elon Musk and the art of flattery
Flattery will get you everywhere, as the sycophants that surround Donald Trump, Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping know.…
What history doesn’t tell us
The trouble with history is that it is topiary. History is what’s left after the unwanted foliage has been clipped…
Letters: Britain sold its fishing industry down the river
Hard reset Sir: Once again we must debate Brexit (‘Starmer vs the workers’, 24 May). The ‘reset’ agreement does give…
