Lesley Downer, author of The Shortest History of Japan, visits the Samurai exhibition at the British Museum and discovers that it’s “an exhibition of treasures” which show that the samurai were patrons of the arts as well as warriors. Prepare to be dazzled! A magnificent and ferocious-looking samurai in full armour stands guard at the […]
Reviews
Looking for your next read? HWA members review the best new historical writing, recommend their desert island books and revisit some old favourites.
Atlantic Furies by Midge Gillies
In the early 20th century, the dream of crossing the Atlantic by air was as potent as putting a man on the moon would be 50 years later. But many people believed women too fragile and lacking in the skills to endure the gruelling conditions of flying long distances. This book uncovers the stories of […]
Review: King & Conqueror
King & Conqueror, the BBC’s new series telling “the epic story of 1066 and the brutal battle for a kingdom”, began on BBC One on Sunday, 24 August, 2025. The historian Annie Whitehead reviews the first episode and finds it “a wasted opportunity to tackle the subject”. For years, Anglo-Saxon history languished in the film […]
Review: The Second Traitor by Alex Gerlis
Alan Bardos reviews the new Second World War spy thriller from Alex Gerlis, The Second Traitor. The Second Traitor is the latest novel in Alex Gerlis’s Double Agent quartet, which follows the trials of two Soviet spies in the British Secret Service from the 1930s to the late 1950s; from the rise of Nazism to […]
Review: Elizabeth Heyrick by Jocelyn Robson
Rachael Tearney reviews the first biography of Elizabeth Heyrick, Quaker, campaigner and abolitionist. The women of the Abolitionist movement are far less well-known than the men, and this timely book highlights one whose advocation of ‘immediate’ rather than ‘gradual’ abolition of slavery put her at odds with better-known figures such as William Wilberforce. The Abolition […]
Review: The Mare by Angharad Hampshire
Carolyn Kirby reviews The Mare by Angharad Hampshire, an “astonishingly good” debut novel which tells the true story of the first woman to be extradited from the United States for Nazi war crimes. What would you do if you discovered someone you loved had taken part in genocide? This question faces Russell Ryan, a mild-mannered […]
Review: Medieval Women at the British Library
“God has given women beautiful minds,” said Christine de Pizan. James Burge reviews the Medieval Women: In Their Own Words exhibition at the British Library, which features Christine among many other well- and less-known women, and finds that “this exhibition makes a powerful case in her support.” There was not a huge amount of documentary […]
Review: Silk Roads exhibition
Lesley Downer reviews the Silk Roads exhibition at the British Museum, open until February, 2025. There’s something irresistibly romantic about the Silk Roads. The very name conjures up images of caravans of camels, piled high with baggage, wending their way across desert and steppes. It makes you want to pack your bags and set off […]