August 2021 issue of BBC History Magazine out now!

French Revolution

Marisa Linton traces the French Revolution’s descent from idealism into factionalism and brutality

Shockwaves of revolution

Ian Mortimer shares 11 ways in which the French Revolution influenced Britain, from fashion to warfare

Queen of the slime moulds

Patricia Fara profiles scientist Gulielma Lister, who pioneered research into “living creepies”

Cruel Cromwell

Ronald Hutton argues that while the Civil War victor presented himself as a pious, dutiful man, in reality he was a vindictive and bloodthirsty liar

Tokyo Olympics

Christopher Harding revisits the 1964 Games, which Japan used to transform its global reputation from postwar pariah to high-tech go-getter

Women’s health

Elinor Cleghorn reveals how medical misogyny has distorted our understanding of female biology over the centuries

Benin Bronzes

Bronwen Everill delves into the history of the exquisite artworks, and the African kingdom that made them, as debates rage over whether the bronzes should be returned