September 2012

Articles from the September 2012 issue of BBC History Magazine

Pragmatist or heartless? A portrait of the young Elizabeth Woodville (1437-1492). The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

The power behind the throne: women in the Wars of the Roses

American jazz singer Helen Forrest performing with trumpeter Harry James (1916-1983), c1945. (Photo by Metronome/Getty Images)

Second World War

My history hero: Helen Forrest (1917-1999)

The "hauntingly beautiful" Elisabeth, Empress of Austria, was never at ease in Vienna's stuffy court. (Getty Images)

A big day in history: a royal icon is stabbed through the heart

Crown Prince Olav on his ice yacht on Stora Värtan, Sweden, c1938. (Getty Images)

“In my spare time I win Olympic golds”

Ptolemy World map. Artist: Germanus, Donnus Nicolaus (ca. 1420-ca. 1490)

General ancient history

Ptolemy’s maps: the father of modern Geography

A 19th century lithograph showing the town of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. (Florilegius/SSPL/Getty Images)

Ye Olde Travel Guide: Sydney 1848

Winston Churchill (left) with Charles de Gaulle, c1944. The British prime minister encouraged Vichy’s colonies to rally to the Free French leader. (Getty Images)

Second World War

D-Day dress rehearsal: the battle for Madagascar

A British waitress serves American servicemen inside Rainbow Corner, Piccadilly, January 1945. (Getty Images)

Second World War

Where history happened: life on the home front

A scene from the German film 'Ways to Strength and Beauty', 1925. (Ullstein Bild via Getty Images)

Second World War

Germany’s naked truth