German PoWs escape from Island Farm

WELCOME

Elizabeth’s 44-year reign was known as a ‘golden

1947 WATERWAY TO GET TO WORK

GETTY IMAGES SNAPSHOTS Less than two years after

c1870 CROSSING THE SEA OF ICE

GETTY IMAGES SNAPSHOTS Conquering the famous Mer de

1931 A MEETING OF MINDS

GETTY IMAGES SNAPSHOTS Sporting silver hair and shorn

THINGS WE LEARNED THIS MONTH...

RECENT HISTORY HEADLINES THAT CAUGHT OUR EYE

Geospatial imaging analyst at Historic England

MEET THE PEOPLE BRINGING THE PAST TO LIFE

PARANORMAL COLD CASE

INVESTIGATING HISTORY’S MOST SPINE-CHILLING ENCOUNTERS

Sutton Hoo

YOUR BRIEF EXPLAINER TO HISTORY’S HOT TOPICS

Samuel Johnson’s defining moments

THE LIVES OF HISTORY’S MOST FAMOUS FIGURES

Q&A YOU ASK, WE ANSWER

HISTORY’S GREATEST CONUNDRUMS AND MYSTERIES SOLVED

TV, FILM & RADIO

THE LATEST DOCUMENTARIES, BLOCKBUSTERS AND PERIOD DRAMAS

EVENTS & EXHIBITIONS

WHAT TO SEE AND WHERE TO VISIT IN THE WIDER WORLD OF HISTORY

BOOKS & PODCASTS

THIS MONTH’S BEST HISTORICAL READS AND LISTENS

WHAT TO LISTEN TO...

Each month we bring you three of our favourite podcasts from the BBC and HistoryExtra

HISTORICAL FICTION...

The Hemlock Cure By Joanne Burn Sphere, £14.99,

•••• Excerpt ••••

The plague has arrived in Eyam and news of it is spreading

CROSSWORD

LETTERS

Hughes inspired the novel The Lone Star ,

WITCHES AND WITCHCRAFT

Explore the dark history of witchcraft in Britain and beyond – from ancient times, to the witch-hunting peak of the 16th and 17th centuries

PHOTO FINISH

ARRESTING IMAGES FROM THE ANNALS OF THE PAST

The Elizabethans

ALAMY X4, GETTY X3, BRIDGEMAN X1 PODCAST Dr

THE ELIZABETHAN GOLDEN AGE

Elizabeth I’s rule was marked by religious turmoil and repeated threats to her throne, but she is still regarded as one of the most powerful figures of the Tudor dynasty. We chart the key events during the Virgin Queen’s life and reign

EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE ELIZABETHANS

Dr Nicola Tallis answers key questions about everyday life – from sport to personal hygiene – during England’s so-called ‘golden age’

THE MAKING OF THE VIRGIN QUEEN

Elizabeth considered herself married to England, yet many suitors still tried to win her hand, says

ELIZABETH AND HER GOVERNMENT

The Virgin Queen ruled England with a firm grip, and did not hesitate to clash with her political advisors

THE QUEEN’S MEN

Elizabeth I surrounded herself with capable advisors and royal favourites

THE SIGHTS AND SMELLS OF DAILY LIFE

Dr Ian Mortimer takes us on a sensory journey through Elizabethan England: from bustling streets to fragrant kitchens

LOST ELIZABETHANS: THE AFRICANS WHO LIVED IN ENGLAND

Kerry Apps and Sophie Merrix delve into the archives to find the black men and women who lived under Elizabeth’s rule

SPANISH SEA POWER

The defeat of Philip II’s ‘invincible’ Armada was arguably the crowning point of Elizabeth’s reign

THE BIRTH OF AN EMPIRE

Diplomacy, exploration – and a desire to beat the Spanish – enabled England to become a major player on the world stage

SETTLING THE RELIGIOUS DIVIDE

The religion of England had see-sawed under the Tudors, says Susan Ronald, so Elizabeth wished finally to reach a settlement

LOUIS WAIN CREATOR OF A “CAT WORLD”

The artist’s popular caricatures were not just a cultural phenomenon, says Nige Tassell, but changed the way that people viewed cats forever

WHAT GREAT PAINTINGS SAY

Religion meets science in an explosive piece of art by one of the 20th century’s most controversial painters

A history of left-handed writing

Dr Deborah Thorpe considers our attitudes to lefties throughout history, from the challenges facing medieval scribes to the 19th-century attempts to train children out of the ‘defect’

WHAT IF... GEORGE III HADN’T ‘LOST’ THE COLONIES?

Professor Andrew Roberts tells Jonny Wilkes why a British victory in the American Revolutionary War could have led to the creation of an all-powerful English-speaking empire, governed from New York