What first attracted you to the period or periods you work in? The mystery. Was Mary Queen of Scots really guilty? Come to think of it, was Anne Boleyn? (because, let’s face it, you don’t make the pathologically egotistical Henry VIII look like a complete and utter...
History
Episode 256
John Ash, Editor of Britain at War, Interviewed
Britain at War is a magazine that “does exactly what it says on the tin,” focusing on Britain’s wartime experience. What, for you, defines the magazine’s core identity and mission? On the face of it, it’s rather simple. Britain at War is a tribute to this nation’s –...
Mickey Mayhew
Books Click on any of the books covers below to either buy or get more information on AmazonArticles Click on the links below to read the full article[dpdfg_filtergrid custom_query="advanced" use_taxonomy_terms="on" multiple_taxonomies="name_of_author"...
Profit, Power, and the Making of Modern Britain
The Business of Conquest In 1756, the East India Company decided to strengthen its position in Kolkata by investing heavily in new fortifications. The Indian city had grown from only a few thousand people to around 400,000 in only fifty years – larger than any town in...
The Maginot Line: A New History, by Kevin Passmore
There has been, historically, a dearth of books in the English language written specifically about the Maginot Line. Many accounts have been written about the German invasion of the Low Countries, in which the Maginot Line has featured as an ancillary part of that...
Defending The Line
"It is with heavy heart that I tell you we have to cease fighting. Last night, I asked our adversary whether he was prepared, between soldiers, after the struggle and in honour, to seek a way to end hostilities." These were the words of France’s new prime minister,...
Ismay’s People
'Pug' Ismay was the personification of discretion and diplomacy. His book, The Memoirs of Lord Ismay, is testimony to this: no revelations are included, no confidences betrayed, no secrets exposed. There is hardly an unkind word about any of the people he met or...
AoH Book Club: John Kiszely on General Hastings ‘Pug’ Ismay: Soldier, Statesman, Diplomat – A New Biography
John – your book, General Hastings 'Pug' Ismay: Soldier, Statesman, Diplomat was published nearly two years ago. Can you give us an outline of the life of ‘Pug’ Ismay, a man you describe as ‘an unusual subject for a biography’? Who was he, and provide us with some...









