Portraits

portraits

Francis Younghusband and the delusions of the Great Game

The British spy and his Russian rival, Bronislav Grombchevsky, embodied the bold endeavour and grand geopolitical illusions that underpinned the 19th-century struggle for control o..

Jack Dickens August 11, 2026

portraits

John Hersey and the horrors of Hiroshima

The American journalist's account of the Hiroshima bombing and its aftermath, told through the eyes of Japanese survivors, forced the world to reckon with the terrifying power of n..

Iain MacGregor August 5, 2026

portraits

Trygve Lie: the Norwegian who built the United Nations

The UN's first secretary-general has slipped through the cracks of history, overshadowed by his glamorous Swedish successor, Dag Hammarskjöld. Yet the organisation's peacekeeping f..

Gordon F. Sander July 21, 2026

portraits

Alistair Cooke and the art of reading America

Alistair Cooke’s radio broadcasts remain a study in how to interpret the dramas and complexity of modern America.

John Raine July 7, 2026

portraits

Marie of Romania: a female corrective to the strongman

While her legacy was buried by Romanian communists, Queen Marie's strength, fulsome ego and ascent to global celebrity provides a blueprint for leaders seeking to dominate a noisy ..

Tessa Dunlop June 9, 2026

portraits

Shajar al-Durr: the slave who became a sultan

Kidnapped and enslaved as a child, Shajar al-Durr rose to become the first Mamluk Sultan of Egypt, defeated a crusade and ransomed the King of France.

Katherine Pangonis May 26, 2026

portraits

Robert Peel: a very modern statesman

A rare and talented figure, Robert Peel laid the foundations of what would become the intellectual core of conservative statecraft, striking a balance that later generations would ..

Ioannes Chountis de Fabbri May 21, 2026

portraits

Eglantyne Jebb and the birth of Save the Children

A controversial figure in her own age, the founder of Save the Children overcame arrest and prosecution to establish what is now the world’s leading independent development agency ..

Clare Mulley April 15, 2026

portraits

Francis of Assisi: God’s holy fool

Eight centuries after his death, Francis of Assisi, ascetic, poet, and visionary, still embodies a transformative and enduring vision of ‘holy foolishness’.

Richard Marranca April 3, 2026