ASK A HISTORIAN – Suggested Reading & Select Bibliography

SUGGESTED READING If you’ve enjoyed this book, and you’d like to know more about the subjects covered, here are some reading recommendations you might like. I’ve tried to prioritise things which are affordable, accessibly written, and available without a university library login, but sometimes the only sources I consulted were academic journal articles or PhD…

Read more...

Discovering My Family’s Holocaust History (it’s been a strange week…)

Hello, I’m normally a fairly upbeat chap and, if you follow my career, you’ll know I try quite hard to make history entertaining and enjoyable. I am not above writing a gratuitous fart joke (or seven). But please forgive me for this more serious, and painful, post. I’m in a strange mood while writing it,…

Read more...

Which Big Tent Cost More: #GBBO or Henry VIII’s Field of Cloth of Gold?

Hi! I saw BBC sports journalist Dan Walker tweet this lovely joke about the Great British Bake Off this morning, and it instantly got me thinking. In terms of very expensive tents, history is full of them – Genghis Khan had one, and so did King Xerxes of Persia (it was captured by the enemy,…

Read more...

Should TV Dramas & Films Be Historically Accurate?

VERSAILLES – VICTORIA – POLDARK – RIPPER STREET – PEAKY BLINDERS – MAD MEN – REIGN – LINCOLN – THE BIG SHORT – SPOTLIGHT – BRAVEHEART – THE IMITATION GAME – THE BUTLER These are all high profile historical dramas/films. But here’s a question for you: “…should TV dramas & movies be historically accurate?” ——————————————————– As you…

Read more...

VERSAILLES TV Drama on BBC2: The Real History Behind The Show

Introduction Hello! Hopefully you’ve enjoyed watching BBC Two’s Versailles TV drama. Coming from the quills of noted showrunners David Wolstencroft and Simon Mirren, both known for gripping series with a conspiratorial bent (i.e. Spooks), it was no surprise when this drama arrived with a hearty dollop of sex, violence, tension, and intrigue. Speaking as a neutral TV…

Read more...

MY NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT! The History of Celebrity

Greetings! Depending on how you felt about my first book, I come bearing good/terrible news. Yes, the fine people at Weidenfeld & Nicolson have commissioned me to write a second history book, and this one is all about… *drum roll* …The history of celebrity! Yes, given the huge pervasiveness of celebrity culture in the modern…

Read more...