The battle of Alcatraz

WELCOME

A 19th-century painting imagines William Shakespeare reading to

SNAPSHOTS

1917 SURROUNDED BY CHAOS ALAMY A young girl

1450 BC

RECENT HISTORY HEADLINES THAT CAUGHT OUR EYE

Archaeologist and co-founder of DigVentures

“We have simply got to come to terms

MAY ANNIVERSARIES

A LOOK BACK AT THREE OTHER EVENTS THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN MAY THROUGHOUT HISTORY

The Illuminati

YOUR BRIEF EXPLAINER TO HISTORY’S HOT TOPICS

YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

GETTY X6, ALAMY X1 Have you ever had

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

HISTORICAL FICTION...

China By Edward Rutherfurd 13 May 2021, Hodder

Q&A Edward Rutherfurd

Edward Rutherfurd studied at the University of Cambridge

CROSSWORD

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR HISTORICAL PUZZLE EVERY ISSUE

LETTERS

GETTY IMAGES Seeing a photograph of a Klondike

PHOTO FINISH

ARRESTING IMAGES FROM THE ANNALS OF THE PAST

OPENING AND CLOSING SCENES

We meet the playwright’s family and examine his long relationship with Stratford-upon-Avon – the Warwickshire town where he was born, raised and eventually died

FROM PARCHMENT TO PERFORMANCE

Renowned Shakespeare scholar Professor Sir Stanley Wells reveals how the playwright crafted his masterpieces

THE PLAY’S THE THING

From the courtyards of inns to the first purpose-built public playhouses, the theatre offered exciting new leisure opportunities for ordinary Elizabethans

SHAKESPEARE’S CREATIVE MILESTONES

Selected ‘highlights’ from the life of the great playwright

THE KEY TO SHAKESPEARE’S HEART

Dr Paul Edmondson examines Shakespeare’s Sonnets and reveals what they tell us about the thoughts and desires of the man who wrote them

8 PLACES THAT SHAPED THE LIFE OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Zoe Bramley visits the locations  famously associated with the writer’s life – as well as those that have been forgotten

FACT, FICTION, OR SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN?

With the help of Dr Paul Edmondson, we explore the historical evidence and plausibility behind 13 common statements about William Shakespeare

SHAKESPEARE AND WOMEN

Chaste, silent and obedient. That’s how you recognise the virtuous woman in early modern England. But not in Shakespeare, says Professor Carol Chillington Rutter

SHAKESPEARE AND RELIGION

Writing in an age of piety, it is perhaps unsurprising that so many of Shakespeare’s works have biblical roots, says Professor Alison Shell

THE WISDOM OF SHAKESPEARE

Shakespeare’s plays and poems contain many examples of what he himself refers to as “wise saws and modern instances” (As You Like It, Act 2, Scene 7 – aphorisms and pithy phrases that might become words of wisdom to us. But, as expert Paul Edmondson explains, it is important and enriching to pay attention to the original dramatic contexts in which the words are intended to be spoken 

SHAKESPEARE THROUGH THE AGES

Dr Paul Edmondson explores how the playwright’s artistic legacy has continued to evolve in the centuries since his death

GET HOOKED

If we’ve whetted your appetite for all things Shakespeare, why not explore the topic further with our pick of books, films and podcasts

Tails from the Deep

Mermaids are beautiful, benevolent and captivating – or at least that is the Disney version. Dr Hetta Howes separates the real-world legends from the fishwives’ stories

EVA BRAUN: THE WOMAN WHO STOOD BY HITLER

She was almost unacknowledged by Hitler and maligned by the other Nazi wives – so why did Eva Braun continue to support the Führer? Nige Tassell explores a complicated relationship

FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN

In 1951, just six years after the end of World War II and a century after Victoria and Albert’s Great Exhibition, a huge display of British industry, arts and science opened in London. As these images show, the nation was in the mood for fun

WHAT IF... THE ROMANS HAD WON AT TEUTOBURG FOREST?

Jonny Wilkes talks to Professor Peter Heather about how the Roman empire’s worst defeat may not have held them back that much in the long run

WHAT TO LISTEN TO... Each month we bring you three of our favourite podcasts from the BBC and HistoryExtra

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