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WELCOME

NOVEMBER 2021

BOOKS

SECOND WORLD WAR “Andrew Lownie reveals Edward VIII

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY

EYE-OPENER Thrown to the lions This ornately decorated

A history of violence

Events in Afghanistan have dominated the news in recent weeks, with Twitter users debating their historical context and parallels

HISTORY IN THE NEWS

A selection of the stories hitting the history headlines

New light on Kristallnacht

The gunning down of a German diplomat by a Jewish teenager sparked a pogrom across Nazi Germany, escalating the anti-Semitic violence that preceded the Holocaust. The fate of the assassin has always been a mystery, but NIGEL JONES reveals evidence that could rewrite hisstory

“A new world is emerging, reviving older connections”

THE CULTURES AND DIVISIONS OF AFGHANISTAN

ANNIVERSARIES

DOMINIC SANDBROOK highlights events that took place in November in history

When the paper poppy became a symbol of remembrance

One hundred years ago, in 1921, paper poppies

LETTERS

LETTER OF THE MONTH Wrapped up in books

Q&A

A selection of historical conundrums answered by experts

“England was seen as a pariah state, ruled by regicidal rebels who’d publicly executed their king”

DR CLARE JACKSON speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about her new account of one of the most turbulent, anxious and insecure periods of English history

Dark forces

MARION GIBSON praises a retelling of a 17th-century witchcraft trial that never loses sight of the women at its heart, nor the social and economic factors that contributed to their plight

AUTHORS ON THE PODCAST

Eric Berkowitz on the long history of censorship

Popish plotting

CATHERINE FLETCHER rates an entertaining book that heads behind the closed doors of an acrimonious 16th-century papal election to tell the story of the man at its centre

The duke of duplicity

SARAH GRISTWOOD on a new profile of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson that casts them in a distinctly unflattering light

YOU RECOMMEND

We asked our Twitter followers to share their book suggestions as the UK marks Black History Month

Index, positive review of, p82

HENRY HITCHINGS enjoys an engaging look at the key roles that the humble index has played across eight centuries of literary and scholarly endeavour

Church and state

CORMAC Ó GRÁDA recommends a biographical, idiosyncratic history of 20th-century Ireland from one of the nation’s leading writers and critics

ALSO ON THE BOOKSHELF

MENTAL ILLNESS The Gallery of Miracles and Madness

Hokusai’s forgotten works

Spirited away Fumei Chōja, as the Indian king

“Questions around refugees have been with us for a century, and we keep largely failing to answer them”

Migration expert DR KATY LONG discusses her new series on a century of refugee crises, contemplating what we owe those fleeing persecution and how the handling of such displacements in the past offers us valuable lessons today

A wonder over the water

Founded by the Augustinian order, transformed into a Tudor manor house and used as billets for Second World War troops, the picturesque Michelham Priory captures nearly eight centuries of English history within its moat. SIÂN REES spends a day at the East Sussex attraction

PRIZE CROSSWORD

Across 1 Feudal bond between a man and

MORE FROM US

A selection of the exciting content on our website historyextra.com

NEXT MONTH

December issue on sale 28 October 2021

MY HISTORY HERO

Countryfile presenter, farmer and author Adam Henson chooses

AMERICA’S FALL GUY

King George III has long been cast as the crazed despot who squandered America. Yet, argues Andrew Roberts, this grim characterisation is the result not of hard facts but a historical stitch-up

WHAT LAY BEHIND THE KING’S MADNESS?

It was long believed that George III suffered from porphyria, but now experts have shed new light on his condition

TIMELINE How Britain lost its grip on the American colonies

23 March 1765 The British parliament passes the

Medieval trial by combat

In 1386, two Frenchmen fought a duel in a field outside Paris, each seeking to bury his blade in the other’s body. One combatant had been accused of raping the other’s wife, a charge he denied vehemently. After an initial verdict of innocence was returned, the accuser demanded a trial by combat. The judgment was now God’s alone… …who would be chosen to die?

WINDOWS ON TO HISTORY

From the glittering stained glass in medieval cathedrals to modernist high-rises, windows have illuminated our buildings for centuries. But, argues Rachel Hurdley, the presenter of a new BBC Radio 4 documentary on the history of windows, they can also shed light on the past

Olaudah Equiano

Olaudah Equiano’s dramatic biography of his perilous journey from slavery to freedom added a powerful black voice to the burgeoning abolition movement. David Olusoga reflects on his extraordinary story

BLOOD RIVALS

Elizabeth I and her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots constantly feuded over power, culminating in Mary’s execution. Susan Doran explores their turbulent relationship through 12 objects from a new British Library exhibition dedicated to the queens

THE FIRING LINE

From the Sahara to Europe’s frozen borderlands, the Sherwood Rangers were at the very heart of the fight against Nazi Germany. James Holland recounts this regiment’s extraordinary road to victory

Going to church in the Middle Ages

From social interaction to confessing your sins, Nicholas Orme reveals why the church played such a central role in medieval life

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Christopher Ward

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