Literature

'Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs' by Camilla Townsend

New take on Aztec history revealed as winner of the 2020 Cundill History Prize

Scrooge and Marley's ghost

Q&A Why do we say ‘Bah Humbug’ and what does it mean?

Maaza Mengiste on the HistoryExtra podcast. (Image by Getty Images)

Ethiopia 1935: The real history behind The Shadow King

BBC History Magazine's Books Of The Year 2020. (Illustration by Evonne Summers)

34 best books for history lovers: BBC History Magazine’s Books of the Year 2020

Launching site for V2 rockets in Germany during World War 2. (Photo by Getty Images)

Second World War

Robert Harris on V2, historical fiction and WW2

British mystery writer Agatha Christie, c1926. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The mysterious disappearance of Agatha Christie

Capture of Helen by Paris, causing the Trojan War, according to Homer. Hand-colored woodcut. (Photo by Alamy)

General ancient history

Women in Greek myths

Ian Fleming, British author and creator of the James Bond character

James Bond in real life: where did Ian Fleming’s inspirations come from?

Paul Edmondson answers listener questions on the life and work of England’s most famous playwright. (Image by Getty Images)

Shakespeare: everything you wanted to know

Bernard Cornwell talks about the final novel in his Last Kingdom series and his next project – a new Sharpe adventure. (Image by Getty Images)

Bernard Cornwell on The Last Kingdom’s finale and the next Sharpe

(Images by Getty Images/Alamy)

The time travelling Tudor: Anne Boleyn’s most surprising representations in film, TV and literature

The Knights of the Round Table are that the heart of many Arthurian legends

Who were the Knights of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, and where does the Holy Grail fit in?

Famous Victorians: Emily Bronte and Isambard Kingdom Brunel

7 famous Victorians: from Brontë to Brunel

Author Kate Summerscale (Photo by Fran Monks)

A 1930s ghost hunt

A Fool Rebuked by God, 14th-century psalter. (Photo by Heritage Arts/Heritage Images via Getty Images)

Medieval marginalia: exploring ‘doodles’ from the Middle Ages