The past is never dead, it isn’t even past
Empress Matilda: Queen of the Romans, Ruler of the English is a new biography by the University of Cambridge historian Elisabeth van Houts. The subject of the book, Empress Matilda, is one of the most fascinating and, arguably, one of the most overlooked characters in...
Welcome back to Aspects of History, Thomas. Your new book, The Fifth Crusade, shines a light on one of the least familiar but most consequential expeditions of the Crusading era. What first drew you to this overlooked campaign and what is it exactly that means it has...
Welcome to Aspects of History, Elizabeth, and congratulations on the release of Empress Matilda: Queen of the Romans, Ruler of the English. Matilda was made regent of northern Italy by her husband, the Holy Roman Emperor, at the age of just sixteen. Do you think this...
Within the pages of Women of SOE, there are many incredible stories reflecting every human trait from heroism to cowardice, bravery to fear, love to betrayal, loyalty to selfishness. The book's aim is to show these women (and the men they worked with) as human beings,...
In my new biography of Empress Matilda, I have emphasised Matilda’s capacity for collaboration with the men surrounding her, revealing her concomitant skill of persuasion and negotiation. Nevertheless, it is clear from her life story that there were moments that these...
When we think of the Crusades, the first things that come to mind are 12th-century characters such as Richard the Lionheart and Saladin, locked in combat for control of the Holy Land. The average medieval person, though, would have had a much richer understanding...
When Britain’s history is told, the railway is usually suddenly introduced in the early to mid-19th century. Yet long before this, it was quietly developing, shaping the future of transport. This early period of rail development is the subject of David Gwyn’s latest...
Welcome to Aspects of History, David. Could you provide our readers with an outline of your latest book, The Coming of the Railway: A New Global History 1750-1850? The book sets out to trace the transformation of a mechanical handling system into the main overland...
Welcome back to Aspects of History, Steve. How hard was it to dig through nearly a thousand years of myth building to get to the truth about what was really happening with the Assassins and the Templars? Thanks Adam. Great question. There's really two aspects to this....
In 2025, the Stockton and Darlington Railway celebrated its 200th anniversary. The bicentenary celebrations were promoted by a multi-disciplinary team from the local authorities, museum partners and other experts, and were a welcome reminder how this innovative system...
