Reviews

Somer’s day: page from the Psalter of Henry VIII showing Henry with William Somer, by Jean Maillart (or Mallard), c.1540. Bridgeman Images.

‘Fool’ by Peter K. Andersson review

Fool: In Search of Henry VIII’s Closest Man by Peter K. Andersson is the first full length study of William Somer’s life and posthumous mythos.

A Mughal depiction of the Siege of Arbela in the era of Hulagu Khan, c. 1596.

‘Empires of the Steppes’ by Kenneth W. Harl review

Empires of the Steppes: The Nomadic Tribes Who Shaped Civilisation by Kenneth W. Harl is a rollercoaster of historical narration.

Musicians the Flying Pickets join a picket line at Drax Power Station, North Yorkshire, in 1984. Virgil Lucky (CC BY-SA 4.0).

‘Backbone of the Nation’ by Robert Gildea review

Backbone of the Nation: Mining Communities and the Great Strike of 1984-85 by Robert Gildea is shaped more by heartbreak than heroism.

British rock group the Rolling Stones arrive in Norway, 1965.

‘A Northern Wind: Britain 1962-65’ by David Kynaston review

A Northern Wind: Britain 1962-65 by David Kynaston is a hyperreal account of Britain on the cusp of modernity.

A bustling Kolkata street scene from Chitpur Road, late 19th century, by Dr. Kurt Boeck. The Cleveland Museum of Art. Public Domain.

‘Shadows at Noon’ by Joya Chatterji review

Shadows at Noon: The South Asian Twentieth Century by Joya Chatterji is a gently revisionist account of an enduring, if ever-tottering, democracy.

Photogravure plate after painting by Neuville, 1882; group of 8 French soldiers relaxing in building yard during the Franco-Prussian War, one playing piano.

‘Bismarck’s War’ by Rachel Chrastil review

Bismarck’s War: The Franco-Prussian War and the Making of Modern Europe by Rachel Chrastil argues that German victory was a catastrophe for Germany and the world.

Opium Smokers Served Fruit and Bread c. 1750.

‘Psychonauts’ by Mike Jay review

Psychonauts: Drugs and the Making of the Modern Mind by Mike Jay is a fascinating study of cyclical attitudes towards self-experimentation.

A white marble Roman head of Plato, 3rd century AD.

‘Plato of Athens’ by Robin Waterfield review

Well-researched and attractively written, Plato of Athens: A Life in Philosophy by Robin Waterfield grapples with a life that left few records.

King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia and President Franklin D. Roosevelt converse on the deck of a U.S. warship in the Great Bitter Lake near Cairo after Roosevelt's attendance at the Yalta conference.

‘Wahhābism’ by Cole M. Bunzel review

Wahhābism: The History of a Militant Islamic Movement by Cole M. Bunzel is groundbreaking and deserves to reach as wide an audience as possible.

Achilles tending Patroclus wounded by an arrow, identified by inscriptions on the upper part of the vase.

‘Homer and His Iliad’ by Robin Lane Fox review

Homer and His Iliad by Robin Lane Fox is a masterly survey of the Iliad, its majesty, its pathos and its unparalleled progression from wrath to pity.