The past is never dead, it isn’t even past
Damien Lewis My new book, SAS Band of Brothers is all about bringing history alive. Making a decades-old conflict like WWII feel accessible and real. In a similar vein I tend to read gripping, visceral narrative history that can and does inspire. So, don’t be put off...
What first attracted you to the period you work in? I came to it after quite a long ramble through other periods, beginning with a childhood fascination with Ancient Rome (I loved the helmets), followed by Medieval Europe (knights in armour, castles, cathedrals), the...
June 2017 You are primarily a Russian historian and in 2016 published your book ‘The Romanovs’, the story of twenty tsars and tsarinas who were the most successful dynasty of modern times. Why did you write ‘Jerusalem: The Biography’ when all your other work is on...
How did your experience as a war correspondent influence your work as a historian? A lot. It’s been a real help. It has been a great way to see the scene on the ground. The armies moving and empires falling. The espionage that comes with a sort of breakup of power....
In June 1772, Russian forces bombarded, stormed and captured Beirut, a fortress on the coast of Ottoman Syria. The Russians were backing their ally, a ruthless Arab despot. When they returned the next year, they occupied Beirut for almost six months. Then as now, they...
David Boyle I was researching a book about Richard the Lionheart’s journey across southern Europe in disguise in 1192, immediately before his arrest, and the legendary incident involving Blondel the troubadour (though strictly speaking he was a trouvere), and a...
Russia and Britain are old foes, and War and Peace is a complete fictional world with its own extraordinarily lifelike exuberance but, as with most Russian novels, it is also about Russia’s vision of itself — its quest for its rightful place in civilisation and its...
What first attracted you to the period or periods you work in? It’s much harder getting into the motivations and mindsets of pre-Enlightenment people, and often requires a higher level of theology than I have. The Enlightenment was the first period in history that the...
Books Click on any of the books covers below to either buy or get more information on Amazon Articles Click on the links below to read the full article [dpdfg_filtergrid custom_query="advanced" multiple_cpt="post,short_stories" use_taxonomy_terms="on"...
What first attracted you to the period or periods you work in? I remember, as a child, hearing tales of military derring-do round the dinner table. My Dad loves reading military history, and often discusses the great battles and commanders with friends and family. I...
