Jasmine Guama, Author at Aspects of History

The Two Hundred Years War and the Shaping of Our World

What we label the Hundred Years War is an example of modern periodisation, clouding the forces at play in the Anglo-French conflicts of the Medieval period. Reframing the conflict over two centuries uncovers how such European rivalries prompted the era of global exploration that followed.

Michael Livingston

The Hundred Years War is a label coined in 1823 as a chapter heading for a French textbook. It was both a matter of convenience and a way of furthering our understanding of the past: we name things to talk about them, so creating a label for this turbulent period of...

Α Maritime Epic, by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore

When an Arctic convoy was ordered to scatter in July 1942, disaster appeared inescapable, but a combination of nerve, improvisation and camouflage saw crisis averted.

Hugh Sebag-Montefiore

Many if not all readers will at least know the basic facts about the so-called PQ17 disaster. PQ17 was the World War Two Arctic convoy whose merchant ships on 4 July 1942 were ordered to scatter while carrying arms and other aid to Russia because it was thought...

Tunisgrad: Victory in Africa, By Saul David

The author examines the Allied victory in Tunisia in May 1943, showing how coordinated land, air, and armoured operations led to the capture of Tunis and the decisive defeat of Axis forces in North Africa.

Saul David

At 3 a.m. on 6 May, 400 Allied guns ‘flamed into action’ on a 3,000-yard stretch of enemy front on both sides of the Medjez-Massicault-Tunis highway. ‘The gunners sweated as they thrust shells into the guns,’ wrote journalist John D’Arcy-Dawson. The noise...

The Battle of Champions, by Andrew Bayliss

The author uses the Battle of the Champions to show how warfare, discipline, and ideas of honour and shame shaped Spartan society.

Andrew Bayliss

In the fields of the Peloponnese, the image of a lone survivor stood amid hundreds of dead reveals the brutality of ancient warfare and the military values that shaped Spartan life. As the light faded, his energy ebbing with it, the Spartan soldier Othryadas felt his...

The Noose of Samuel Burrows, by Nick Kevern

The story of Samuel Burrows, a hangman in the harsh world of Georgian Britain.

Nick Kevern

23rd April 1813 Samuel Burrows was more excited than ever. Today was going to be his day. He had held the position of Chester’s, and therefore Cheshire’s, executioner for four years. However, until this day, only a select few knew of his official duties. For...

The Trembling Wilburys: A Review – Rock of Ages

A live performance by The Trembling Wilburys at Questors Theatre, Ealing.

Richard Foreman

As a welcome tonic (accompanied by measures of gin for some) to take one’s mind off the state of affairs today, the audience at the Questors Theatre in Ealing were transported back to the late eighties on the evening of Jan 8th. The venue played host to The Trembling...

Fiction Book of the Month: Poetic Justice, by Fiona Forsyth

A murder mystery born from Ovid's exile, shaped by myth, history and the watchful goddess Hecate.

Fiona Forsyth

The goddess Hecate plays a crucial role in my murder mystery Poetic Justice, something I did not expect when I embarked upon my research of the poet Ovid and his life in exile. It all started when I read a pamphlet from the Museum of History and Archaeology in...

New Books For The New Year

A look at a few new history and historical fiction titles we are especially excited about.

Aspects of History

We are greatly looking forward to a number of titles due to be published in 2026, but we thought we would highlight a few of particular interest to us and our readers. Stalin's Apostles: The Cambridge Five and the Making of the Soviet EmpireBy Antonia SeniorPublished...

Richard III: A Character Study

An extract from the new edition of a royal biography intends to disavow the mythology and bad press and render an accurate likeness of one of English history’s most indecipherable figures.

Anthony Cheetham

The two dominant strains in Richard’s character – an assumption of moral superiority combined with a painstaking and conventional concept of duty – do resolve the puzzling contradictions touching on his personal code of honour. He could denounce the Treaty of...

Historical Heroes: Ninette de Valois

British ballet has this Irish born diva to be thankful for since she established dance in the inter-war period and gave choreography in the country its distinctive flavour.

Lucy Ashe

Dame Ninette de Valois was an ever-present figure throughout my years training at the Royal Ballet School, her name repeated in ballet studios, her influence permeating every rehearsal room. I saw her only once, at a celebration of her 100th birthday at the Royal...