In AD 79 - there is still debate about when - the Roman city of Pompeii was wiped out by a huge volcanic eruption. For centuries, it lay buried beneath a thick carpet of ash and debris until its rediscovery in 1748. Daisy Dunn explores the lives of the people who lived there and the city’s destruction in this month’s cover feature, from page 50.
This month sees the release of the long-awaited (for some) Downton Abbey film. Turn to page 37 to learn the do’s and don’ts of Edwardian etiquette - from conversation to cutlery. And we’ll be looking at another, more controversial, form of historical entertainment: the Victorian freak show. John Woolf examines the extraordinary and complex stories of 19th-century ‘freak’ performers, from page 67.
ON THE COVER: ALAMY X5, GETTY IMAGES X2, MOVIESTILLS X1, ON THIS PAGE: GETTY IMAGES X1