Category Archives: History
How beavers and fops saved America
Oh, alright. the title of this post is a little misleading. But, as may be becoming apparent, I can’t resist ridiculous animal history, and it turns out the humble beaver really did play a crucial role in the early chapters of the American story.
Here’s the tale, quoted from Raymond Seitz’s review of Nick Bunker’s (by [...]
Also posted in American History, Animals, Books Tagged Animals, history of the united states, reviews Leave a comment
Marie Antoinette and her Children: The shocking accusations at Marie Antoinette’s Trial
The most striking thing about reading the record of Marie Antoinette’s trial before the Revolutionary Tribunal in October 1793 is realising what an astonishing mess the whole thing really was. In most other accounts, revolutionary justice always seems so swift, so merciless, so ruthlessly efficient. Many of those who stood trial before the Tribunal had [...]
Also posted in 18th Century, Biography, French History, Royal History Tagged Biography, french revolution, marie antoinette, marie antoinette and her children, trial Leave a comment
Marie Antoinette and her Children: The mystery and the history of Louis Charles in the tower. Part 1
On the morning of 11th August 1792, an exhausted and increasingly sweaty royal family sat in the reporters’ box of the National Assembly, a stone’s throw from the Seine in Paris. The night before, the Tuileries (the 16th-century royal palace near the Louvre which had been their residence since they were removed from Versailles in [...]
Is Paris Burning: Did a German General save the City of Light?
In February 1943, there was nothing in Stalingrad but the ghost of a city. The scale of the battle that had raged for the past seven months was so unimaginable that it is nearly impossible to talk about it without resorting to empty cliché. There are the figures, of course – 850,000 Axis casualties, 1.1 [...]
Also posted in 20th Century, French History, Historical Places, Paris Tagged 20th Century, Paris, world war 2 Leave a comment
History, with more Jumpy Bits: are video games a new avenue for history?
There was an article in Literary Review recently, in which DJ Taylor bemoaned the state of publishing and the literary world in general, culminating in the conclusion that
reading a book is, by and large, a more valuable and more rewarding activity than watching a film, laughing at a stand-up comedian or hunkering down over one’s [...]
Also posted in Games, Popular History Tagged assassins creed ii, History, Popular History, video games Leave a comment
Queen Victoria’s Black Sheep: Prince Eddy and the Ripper Rumours, Part 2
As we saw in Part 1 of this story, there are many theories on the real identity of Jack the Ripper doing the rounds, which range from the hypothetically plausible to the palpably absurd. Delving a little deeper, it is interesting to note how many of the suspects suggested over the years involve highly respected [...]
Also posted in 19th Century, Biography, British History, Historical Places, London, Royal History Tagged jack the ripper, London, Prince Albert Victor, Royal History, social history Leave a comment
Marie Antoinette and her Children: The mystery and the history of Louis Charles in the tower. Part 2