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Joan Vaux: a remarkable Tudor lady
Historian article
Joanna Hickson is a hugely successful novelist, specialising in historical fiction, and she describes herself as feeling that she actually lives in the fifteenth century. For readers of The Historian she explores and explains how she developed her understanding and knowledge of a highly significant Tudor woman who is a central figure in two of...
Joan Vaux: a remarkable Tudor lady
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The Historian 156: Out now
The magazine of the Historical Association
Read The Historian 156
The sadness that came with the death of our patron Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is tinged with our appreciation of her willingness many years ago to become our patron. Some of our older members will remember that she and the Duke of Edinburgh attended our...
The Historian 156: Out now
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Real Lives: Anna Wessels Williams (1863–1954)
Historian feature
Patrick J Pead writes about a truly remarkable woman whose contribution to advances in medicine deserves far wider recognition.
Our series ‘Real Lives’ seeks to put the story of the ordinary person into our great historical narrative. We are all part of the rich fabric of the communities in which we live...
Real Lives: Anna Wessels Williams (1863–1954)
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What did ‘Mature Socialism’ mean for the Soviet Union?
Historian article
David Shipp analyses the state of socialism in the Soviet Union, from Brezhnev to Chernenko.
‘What is he thinking of? Reform, reform. Who needs it, and who can understand it? We need to work better, that is the only problem.’
These reported words of Leonid Brezhnev epitomise the view of the period...
What did ‘Mature Socialism’ mean for the Soviet Union?
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My Favourite History Place: The Musée Carnavalet, Paris
Historian article
Until it was overtaken in the twentieth century by Berlin and Moscow, Paris was the political, cultural and revolutionary hub around which Europe revolved. When the revolutionary Parisian crowd trudged out to Versailles in 1789 to attack the chateau and bring the king and his family back to the capital, they...
My Favourite History Place: The Musée Carnavalet, Paris
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The Duchy of Courland and a Baltic colonial venture across the ocean
Historian article
The Duchy of Courland’s attempts to establish outposts in the Caribbean and Africa were not the only Baltic ventures across the Atlantic during the seventeenth century. However, the expeditions of the small vassal dukedom were possibly the most unlikely. The article introduces the motivations behind the Couronian colonial project, as...
The Duchy of Courland and a Baltic colonial venture across the ocean
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Harriet Kettle, Victorian rebel
Historian article
Harriet Kettle had a remarkable life. She was on the receiving end of everything that the institutions of social control in Victorian England could throw at her, but resisted, survived and fought back.
Harriet’s defiance earned her references in the records of a workhouse, two prisons, two asylums and, in...
Harriet Kettle, Victorian rebel
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Croydon’s Tudor and Stuart inns
Historian article
Trevor James offers a case study in how to define and identify inns as part of the historic urban environment.
Croydon’s Tudor and Stuart inns Croydon’s Tudor and Stuart inns had a remarkable and formative effect on its urban landscape, an effect which still endures into modern times. Topographers and...
Croydon’s Tudor and Stuart inns
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The Historian 152: Out now
The magazine of the Historical Association
Read The Historian 152: Built environment
From its inception The Historian has been built on the voluntary efforts of both its editorial leadership and also its contributors. This voluntary context has been delivered in as professional a manner as possible. One of our recent strategies has been to identify a...
The Historian 152: Out now
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Capturing public opinion during the Paris Commune of 1871
Historian article
In the year of its 150th anniversary, Jason Jacques Willems offers his thoughts on the importance of centrist opinion to our understanding of the Paris Commune.
2021 is the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune, when a revolutionary Parisian movement was pitted against the French government. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870...
Capturing public opinion during the Paris Commune of 1871
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The Historian 151: Out now
The magazine of the Historical Association
Read The Historian 151: Branches
As life begins to return to some semblance of normality for many people, numerous HA branches are also resuming in-person meetings this autumn. Although online platforms such as Zoom offered branches the opportunity to continue running lectures and email allowed us to keep in touch...
The Historian 151: Out now
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Legacies of the Cement Armada
Historian article
Steven Pierce writes about Nigeria, long known for its flamboyant corruption, some of which stems from accidents of history. Its true international notoriety emerged in 1974–75, when half the world’s concrete supply was mysteriously diverted to the port of Lagos, paralysing it for a year. This article examines how the press coverage...
Legacies of the Cement Armada
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What did it mean to be a city in early modern Germany?
Historian article
Alexander Collin examines the significance of cities within the Holy Roman Empire in early modern times. With a strong political identity of their own, cities were at the heart of the Empire’s economy and, also, centres of theological and social change.
If you have ever read a description of a...
What did it mean to be a city in early modern Germany?
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Disease and healthcare on the Isle of Man
Historian article
Caroline Smith provides a perspective, past and present, of the experiences of epidemics on the Isle of Man.
In recent times health has been at the forefront of everyone’s minds. Epidemics and pandemics are not new, but the Covid-19 outbreak is probably the first to have such a noticeable effect...
Disease and healthcare on the Isle of Man
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The Historian 149: Out now
The magazine of the Historical Association
Read The Historian 149: Pandemics
This edition of The Historian follows immediately after the annual Local and Community History Month, which we launched many years ago. Although our expressed purpose on this occasion is to place a special focus on the concept of pandemics and epidemics, a number of our...
The Historian 149: Out now
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Real Lives: Surviving the War in the Soviet Union: recollections of a child deportee
Historian feature
This 'Real Lives' piece is based on a series of interviews Annette Ormanczyk carried out in 2019 with Mrs Irena Persak, who was deported as a five-year-old child with her family in February 1940. As well as offering a fascinating personal account of life in the Soviet Union during the Second...
Real Lives: Surviving the War in the Soviet Union: recollections of a child deportee
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History Abridged: The Berlin Conference 1884–1885
Historian feature
History Abridged: This feature seeks to take a person, event or period and abridge, or focus on, an important event or detail that can get lost in the big picture. Think Horrible Histories for grownups (without the songs and music). See all History Abridged articles
In 2020 there was lots...
History Abridged: The Berlin Conference 1884–1885
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History Abridged: POTUS - President of the United States
Historian article
History Abridged: This feature seeks to take a person, event or period and abridge, or focus on, an important event or detail that can get lost in the big picture. Think Horrible Histories for grownups (without the songs and music). See all History Abridged articles
Described as the most powerfully...
History Abridged: POTUS - President of the United States
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The Historian 147: Out now
The magazine of the Historical Association
Read The Historian 147: The Historic Environment
The town centre of Middleton, Greater Manchester, was reshaped in 1970 to allow for the building of an Arndale Centre. The now-unprepossessing centre of town belies a ‘golden cluster’ of heritage in the area which includes a seventeenth-century pub, several architectural gems designed...
The Historian 147: Out now
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Out and About on the Isle of Man
Historian article
Caroline Smith introduces us to the delights in the south of her home island.
The Isle of Man has had mixed fortunes as a tourist destination. It first attracted visitors in the early nineteenth century and had its heyday in 1913. In that year, over 600,000 holidaymakers came during the...
Out and About on the Isle of Man
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The Historian 146: Out now
The magazine of the Historical Association
Read The Historian 146: Civilisations
Join The Historian editorial board As with all HA publications The Historian is edited by our members and has a small board of volunteers who discuss possible themes, commission articles, review and commission for regular features and read and respond to articles submitted by members....
The Historian 146: Out now
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The 1620 Mayflower voyage and the English settlement of North America
Historian article
On the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Pilgrims in New England on the Mayflower, Martyn Whittock explores the reasons for migration to the New World in 1620 and later, and the significance of those migrants, both at the time and their impact on the evolution of the USA...
The 1620 Mayflower voyage and the English settlement of North America
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Losing sight of the glory: five centuries of combat surgery
Historian article
Michael Crumplin traces developments in surgery that can be directly attributed to changes in the conduct of war.
Little doubt exists that war accelerates and innovates medical care. Today, our armed services can rely upon sound medical treatment if they are sick or wounded, with survival rates of above 90%. This...
Losing sight of the glory: five centuries of combat surgery
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The Historian
The magazine of the Historical Association
Welcome to this special sample edition of The Historian. We have gathered here just a few of the fascinating articles and features that have been published in the quarterly editions in recent months. Deciding what to select was not an easy task as there are a wide range of styles,...
The Historian
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Sparta and war: myths and realities
Historian article
Stephen Hodkinson explains how images of ancient Sparta have been distorted and misused.
On 15 April 2017, at a violent right-wing rally in Berkeley, California, some striking ancient Greek symbols were visible amidst the swastikas and ‘Make America Great Again’ hats. Several demonstrators wore replica ‘Corinthian’ helmets, as worn by...
Sparta and war: myths and realities
