Reviews

Significant works reviewed by Engelsberg Ideas writers.

An archivist polishes a sculpture of Milton Friedman.
Review

Friedman fighter

Milton Friedman's revolution in economic thought was so total that even his intellectual opponents would admit 'We are all monetarists now.'

Linda Yueh February 8, 2024
A comic book sketch of the Romans in Britain.
Review

We are legion

A riveting British Museum exhibition lays bare the lives of the Roman infantrymen.

Daisy Dunn February 7, 2024
Victorian engraving of London.
Review

The lost worlds of Raphael Samuel

Popular history had one of its most eloquent advocates in Raphael Samuel, who deserves recognition as a major force in English letters.

Michael Ledger-Lomas February 5, 2024
Les Noces at Woolwich Works.
Review

Stravinsky’s forever modern masterpiece

A genre-defying interpretation of Stravinsky's Les Noces, that melds bodies, music and dance, is vibrantly modern.

Benjamin Poore January 30, 2024
The Men's Bath by Albrecht Dürer.
Review

Homosexuality’s forbidden histories

Across Europe and the Christian and Muslim worlds, same-sex relations in the Early Modern world were far more disparate and complex than received wisdom would suppose.

Daniel Johnson January 30, 2024
Burial effigy of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II at Abbey of Fontevraud, Loire, France.
Review

Crusading women

Whether as companions, patrons, regents, warriors or writers, women played vital roles in the crusades of the medieval period.

Nicholas Morton January 25, 2024
Sunset over Tripoli.
Review

A Libyan love affair

Hisham Matar's latest novel is a spellbinding tale of love, loss and exile from his native Libya.

Lucy Thynne January 23, 2024
Poster for the British Empire Exhibition held at Wembley in 1924 and 1925.
Review

When everything is empire

A superficial reckoning with the history of the British Empire is blind to the realities of class and inequality.

Pratinav Anil January 17, 2024
Engraving of an alchemist's laboratory by Joan Galle.
Review

A magical Renaissance

Anthony Grafton's study of the occult and Renaissance thought offers powerful lessons in our age of disenchantment and technological progress.

Mathew Lyons January 15, 2024

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