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Oliver Webb-Carter

SpyMasters, by Antonia Senior

SpyMasters, by Antonia Senior

The editor of a new anthology introduces the collection.

In the years just before the First World War, a boy was growing up in Imperial India. He was obstinate and full of life. Still a toddler, he chatted to the servants in Hindustani. His father nicknamed him Kim, after the spy hero of Rudyard Kipling’s novel, who could...

Black Horsemen: Numidian Light Cavalry

Black Horsemen: Numidian Light Cavalry

The Carthaginian allies made a formidable foe against the Roman Army.

Black Horsemen: Numidian Light Cavalry I am currently writing the first book in a new series, out in 2025, centred during the time of the Second Punic War, 218 - 201 BC. It is a fascinating period and one that I previously knew little about, other than some of the...

Historical Heroes: Æthelstan

Historical Heroes: Æthelstan

Æthelstan, who reigned from 924-939, recently won a prominent podcast’s ‘World Cup of English Kings & Queens.’

Historical Heroes: Æthelstan Throughout the 700s, the ancient Saxon kingdom of Mercia was the powerhouse in Saxon England. The key to its success, as in the Saxon kingdoms of Northumbria and Wessex both before and after it, was the longevity of its kings. First, King...

Don’t Mention the War: The Start of Civil War in England

Don’t Mention the War: The Start of Civil War in England

The tragedy of the Civil War is explored by the author of a new biography of Charles I.

Don’t Mention the War: The Start of Civil War in England The tragedy of the Civil War is explored by the author of a new biography of Charles I. The devastating civil wars of the 17th century tore Great Britain’s three kingdoms apart. They were wars ‘without an...

Invisible Spies: Women Behind Enemy Lines

Invisible Spies: Women Behind Enemy Lines

From early on in the Intelligence Services, female spies were carrying out operations every but as exciting as found in a spy novel.

Across two world wars, women living in occupied countries displayed extraordinary bravery and resilience in running spy networks and gaining intelligence for the Allies, often at great personal risk. To date their stories have largely been missing from the wider...

US Assassinations: The Security Failures

US Assassinations: The Security Failures

The security failures exposed by Thomas Matthew Crooks are the latest in long line post Lincoln.
Oliver Webb-Carter

US Assassinations: The Security Failures The news that the Secret Service is under investigation by the Dept. of Homeland Security for lapses in security before, during and after the attempt on former President Trump’s life should not necessarily come as a surprise to...

James I: The Wisest Fool

James I: The Wisest Fool

The nickname for James VI of Scotland & I of England was a harsh one.

James I: The Wisest Fool What makes a good king? What, for that matter, makes a good leader? Nowadays, we might identify qualities such as charisma, presence, and – one would hope – intelligence in decision-making and genuine care for the wellbeing of the people...

The Irresistible Appeal of the 1930s

The Irresistible Appeal of the 1930s

Of all the periods of our past the 1930s stands out, delivering the perfect mix of tangibility and nostalgia – sliced through with grit, like Brighton Rock.

The Irresistible Appeal of the 1930s What is it about the 1930s that we find so irresistible? What is it about this decade that provides such constant inspiration to writers and filmmakers – not to mention our imaginations? Why can’t we get enough of the 1930s? I...

The Siege of Leningrad

The Siege of Leningrad

Prit Buttar looks at the city in the context of the birth of the Soviet Union in the years running up to the Second World War.
Prit Buttar

Leo Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina commences with one of the best-known opening sentences of literature in any language: ‘Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.’ In a similar manner, the relatively few nations that enter conflicts...

CHF 2024: Day 5

CHF 2024: Day 5

Day Five sees the big beasts: Hastings, Holland and David.

CHF 2024: Day 5 Cassino ’44, James Holland The searing sun gave way to cooler cloudier weather on Friday, the day of the military big beasts, James Holland, Max Hastings, Saul David and Anthony Beevor. James Holland’s account of the battle of Monte Cassino follows in...