Essays

essays

Painting the invisible

Hilma af Klint's work is saturated in the scientific culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Linda Dalrymple Henderson July 31, 2020

essays

George IV: a very decadent Prince

George IV was a dissolute dandy and sybarite - but he was also a brilliant patron of the arts.

Saul David July 31, 2020

essays

In defence of the Habsburgs

The failure of the Austro-Hungarian order spelt the end of the most cosmopolitan culture in Europe's history.

Richard Swartz July 30, 2020

essays

On the myth of multiculturalism

Without a vision or programme of a different society or future, the left has retreated to pluralism and the idiom of choice as its most radical idea.

Russell Jacoby July 29, 2020

essays

What makes a man die for his country?

Dying to defend territory is an ancient human need - but war in the 21st century may not follow the script.

Christopher Coker July 28, 2020

essays

Æthelstan and the forging of a United Kingdom of England 

The story of how, over the course of three generations, the royal dynasty of Wessex went from near oblivion to fashioning a kingdom that still endures today is the most remarkable ..

Tom Holland July 28, 2020

essays

When did sexual decadence lose its association with social decline?

Once, illicit sex was believed to be the ultimate transgression and a danger to society. Since the Enlightenment, attitudes have grown more tolerant.

Faramerz Dabhoiwala July 27, 2020

essays

You are not as clever as you think

The history of man is a story of mimicry and copying rather than innovation and 'light-bulb moments'.

Mark Pagel July 27, 2020

essays

Why the idea of Carthage survived Roman conquest

The Romans burnt Carthage's books and buildings - but 'Punic' identity remained influential throughout Antiquity.

Richard Miles July 24, 2020