How Did They Do That?

The Queen who curried favour

With hit movies and blockbusting TV series exploring the life

Snapshots

GI Joe may be in a cage at the Tower

I Read the News Today

Weird and wonderful, it all happened in November

Yesterday’s papers

On 9 November 1989, the concrete wall that divided a city was dramatically pulled down by its citizens

Graphic history

The beating heart of the West

What Happened Next…

The film that set a precedent for silver-screen entertainment

The Extraordinary Tale of…

A mysterious masked convict, believed to be a threat to the French throne

Victoria: Rise of an Empress

When control of the subcontinent was handed to the British Crown in 1858, it marked the start of a turbulent relationship. Lottie Gold?nch explains how Queen Victoria fell in love with a country she never stepped foot in

Dawn of the Tank

The first mass use of tanks at the Battle of Cambrai proved that this strange new machine had the potential to win World War I for the Allies. Gavin Mortimer tells the story of its creation and how it has evolved over a century

Top 10: Mass Hysteria

There is no knowing what can set people off – even laughing, dancing and kissing are a risk…

Mary Shelley: Frankenstein’s Mother

Two hundred years ago, a young woman completed one of the most terrifying novels of all time. Mel Sherwood discovers the scandalous and tumultuous tale of Mary Shelley…

History Makers: Xerxes

e son of Darius I had big boots to fill upon his father’s death – ones that, according to the Greeks at least, slipped from Xerxes’ feet for the duration of his reign. Alice Barnes-Brown tells his story

In Pictures: Post-war Britain

After World War II, Britain lay in ruins. Soldiers returned home to find squalor and devastation. The next few years would be times of great adjustment and change

Great Adventures: The Bunion Derby

Pat Kinsella follows in the countless steps of an event that redefined the meaning of cross-country running: the 1928 Trans-American Footrace from Los Angeles to New York

Ask the Experts

Social historian, genealogist and author of Mr Darcy’s Guide to

In a nutshell

A time when Japan closed off its borders and froze its social order

On our Radar

In partnership with the Royal Opera House, the V&A is

Britain’s treasures

Spend a day in the Ashmolean in Oxford and you’ll

Books

This month’s best historical books

Letters

Get in touch – share your opinions on history and our magazine

Photo Finish

A pair of Mexican smugglers try to run rum across