21st C Archives - Aspects of History

Reds: A Global History of Communism, by Paul Mason

Α compelling account of an idea that has survived its political failures tracing communism from Plato and Thomas More through revolution, authoritarianism and the rise of contemporary China while asking what lessons its past holds for the present.

Daria Santini

In the epigraph to his previous book, How to Stop Fascism (2021), Paul Mason recalls the anti-fascist lawyer and political scientist Karl Loewenstein's observation that "history teaches us the deathlessness of ideas". The quotation encapsulates a view of history...

Episode 280

Episode 279

Woodspring, by Elizabeth Buchan

No doubt many have sat in their houses and wondered who lived there before them, what sort of lives they led. Woodspring, set in three parts, presents a chance to dig up those buried moments in time.

Carmina Gallus

Set in three parts, Elizabeth Buchan's latest novel Woodspring combines the stories of three separate people through its namesake – Woodspring House built in 1810. Though united in this way, each person and their part comes to Woodspring in their own way, and with...

Episode 278

Introducing the New Aspects of History Substack – We’re Revamping!

Pairing a free midweek editorial newsletter with exclusive subscriber-only magazine features, author interviews and other benefits on a Saturday, we are offering history lovers a richer and more rewarding reading experience while supporting independent historical writing.

Aspects of History

Over the last six years, Aspects of History has brought you the best historical writing from established and new authors alike, whether non-fiction or fiction. So we are now excited to outline a new chapter for the Aspects of History Substack. Our website has grown...

Iran’s Unfinished Story

A sweepthrough of modern Iran across several decades tracks its turbulent trajectory from the Anglo-Soviet invasion in 1941 through the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and up to the attack by the US and Israel in early 2026.

Homa Katouzian

In August 1941, British and Russian forces invaded Iran and Reza Shah’s abdication was followed by his son Mohammad Reza’s succession. In the 37 years that separate the Allied invasion from the revolution of 1979, three distinct phases may be distinguished. 1941 to...

Writing Woodspring

A multi-generational novel attests to the disruptions of war, social change and 21st-century Britain, each witnessed in the lot of a country house and the characters bound to it.

Elizabeth Buchan

Hitler believed in the Darwinian struggle for existence. Life did not, could not, exist without conflict. All too soon after his ascent into power, and initially, Europe got to experience the consequences of his grim and aggressive political beliefs. In Great Britain,...

Travelling Through Tibet’s Living Past

Drawing on his firsthand experiences in Tibet, the author explores how the legacy of political repression and the 2008 Lhasa riots inspired his novel.

Xiao Hei

If I had never been to Tibet, I might have found it difficult to understand the Tibetan riots that broke out in Lhasa in 2008. Nor would I have felt such a powerful urge to complete my novel, A Tibetan Girl Called Ata, a tragic cross-cultural love story that unfolds...

Monarchs Anonymous at The Other Palace Theatre

A review of the historical comedy show which forces famous historical figures into a group therapy session.

Richard Foreman

Monarchs Anonymous is a fun, frenetic show that should appeal to a variety of ages. The premise is a therapy session involving multiple monarchs. The figures taking part are Marie Antionette, Mansa Musa, Charles II, Henry VIII and Princess Sophia Duleep Singh....