December 2019

Expert history articles from the December 2019 issue of BBC History Magazine

George Frederic Watts' 1846 painting 'Alfred Inciting the Saxons to Prevent the Landing of the Danes'

Michael Wood “As a racism row rumbles on, is it time to retire the term ‘Anglo-Saxon’?”

One of many historic sites in Luxembourg. Larochette's castle dominates the town below.

Travel to Luxembourg: rural beauty and Gothic grandeur

'Yorktown' sustains a hit during the battle of Midway. The US aircraft carrier sank three days later but, by then, the Japanese had accepted that their attempt to land a war-winning blow had failed. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Second World War

How miraculous was the battle of Midway?

The Parnethon, Athens

How to build a democracy (Athenian-style)

Black and white image of Russian soldiers using a canon

First World War

Trial by fire: how a fortress siege changed the course of World War One

Historian Nichola Tallis

Books interview with Nicola Tallis: “Margaret Beaufort wielded enormous power. She was a queen in all but name”

The footprint of Old Sarum cathedral

Explore Old Sarum: the regal and the rotten

A c1860 depiction of Wentworth Works steel manufacturer in Sheffield

Why Britain punched above its weight

Tutankhamun's blue and gold funerary mask

Tutankhamun unmasked: 7 intriguing truths about the pharaoh and his treasures

We asked six leading authors and academics to pick works of fiction that have captured life in Britain. (Image by Getty Images)

6 novels that captured life in Britain

A contemporary portrait of scientist Ada Lovelace

My history hero Konnie Huq chooses Ada Lovelace (1815–52)

A wooden cross marks the spot, just over 20 miles west of Newcastle, where Oswald apparently raised his own cross before ambushing Cadwallon. If the Anglo-Saxon warlord's attack had failed, writes Edoardo Albert, England might now be a lot smaller. (Photo by Getty Images)

Hell in Heavenfield: the Anglo-Saxon battle “as important as Hastings”