LITERARY REVIEW —- FEBRUARY 2026
Category Archives: History
APOLLO MAGAZINE – FEBRUARY 2026 PREVIEW
APOLLO MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Miquel Barceló’s Mutant Art’….
The Asia Society Turns 70
Los Angeles After The Fires
Hans Holbein’s Big Break
On Viollet-le-Duc, the punchbag of Notre-Dame
While the architect’s approach to restoring France’s medieval buildings remains controversial, his many and varied talents are still utterly awe-inspiring by Tim Smith-Laing
The American Scholar Magazine – Winter 2026
Renaissance Man
Doctor, writer, musician, and orator: Rudolph Fisher was a scientist and an artist whose métier was Harlem By Harriet A. Washington
Acid Blues (Slight Return)
The music of Jimi Hendrix continues to strike a chord By James McManus
Netflix Goes to Vietnam
When a filmmaker wanted to understand the war that changed his father, he decided to make a documentary By Thomas A. Bass
Back to Bellevue
Two deaths nearly five decades apart and the hospital that felt like a nightmare By Natalie Angier
History Today Magazine – FEBRUARY 2026 Preview
HISTORY TODAY MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Life and Death in the Thirty Years War’ – Refugees in the Thirty Years War, the Trojan myths of medieval Wales, Russia in the 1990s, the godless students of London University, brothels of the British Empire, and more.
Fight and Flight in the Thirty Years War
The Thirty Years War devastated continental Europe, killing millions and creating as many refugees. How did they experience the conflict?
When Did the Reformation End?
From 1517, when Luther’s 95 Theses sparked schism and bloodshed, the Protestant Reformation divided Europe. Can we say when – or if – the conflict concluded?
‘Demosthenes’ by James Romm review
Demosthenes: Democracy’s Defender by James Romm looks for hope amid the sound and fury surrounding the great orator of ancient Athens.
THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS – FEBRUARY 12, 2026
A More Pliant Chavista
President Trump’s decision to support Delcy Rodríguez as Venezuela’s new leader makes clear that oil, not democracy, is his main concern.
Whose Hemisphere?
The US capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro reinforces the Trump administration’s capacity to invent any pretext to justify the use of armed force.
Epic Ambitions
A new life of Gertrude Stein treats her as a philosopher of language to trust, not explain—and gathers force from archival discoveries and intriguing plots of her reception and reputation.
Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife by Francesca Wade
Is the Constitution ‘Dead, Dead, Dead’?
The difficulty of amending the Constitution does not mean that it is a flawed and outdated relic of a distant past.
We the People: A History of the US Constitution by Jill Lepore
TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT – JANUARY 23, 2026 PREVIEW
TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT: The latest issue features ‘The state of British poetry’ by Tristram Fane Saunders…
Anon and on
The forward march of British poetry
First class delivery?
A history of childbirth and a defence of the C-section
By Leah Hazard
Portraits of the ‘Black Venus’
Newly discovered photographs of Baudelaire’s muse
Fathoms deep
The thrill of marine archaeology
By Alan Jenkins
National Geographic Magazine – January 2026
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Can Science Build a Better Beer?’ – How breakthroughs in the lab could upend a global industry…
Revealing the hidden kingdom of seahorses
On a Bahamian island, in a landlocked lagoon, the planet’s densest collection of seahorses is offering scientists new insights into the secret lives of one of the world’s most mysterious fish.
Inside the sacred wolf hunts of western Mongolia
The mission to keep the borderlands wild
Searching for life across the planet’s frigid frontiers
Is the grumpy-faced Texas horned lizard cute enough to survive?
These sunken ceramics ushered in a new era for archaeology
SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE – JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026
Samuel Green Freed Himself and Others From Slavery. Then He Was Imprisoned Over Owning a Book
After buying his own liberty, the Marylander covertly assisted conductors on the Underground Railroad, including Harriet Tubman. But his possession of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” turned him into an abolitionist hero
Maggots Are an Incredibly Efficient Source of Protein, Which May Make Them the Next Superfood for Humans
Inexpensive to raise and insatiably hungry for trash, black soldier fly larvae are already on the menu for livestock, pets and, maybe soon, people
See the Blades That Carried Boitano to Gold in the ‘Battle of the Brians’ in the 1988 Olympics
The American’s fabled rivalry with Canadian Brian Orser reached its pinnacle in Calgary on these skates, now part of the Smithsonian collection
TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT – JANUARY 9, 2026 PREVIEW
TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT: The latest issue features ‘Constable vs Turner’ by Ferdinand Mount….
As unalike as ever
Turner is on our banknotes, Constable in our hearts By Ferdinand Mount
Coming out of Tate Britain just before noon on Budget Day, you are blinded by a blistering white sun behind Vauxhall Cross. The steepling glass towers south of the river are washed in an opal mist, the ziggurats of the MI6 HQ eclipsed to a ruined beige. Vauxhall Bridge gleams in the scarlet and yellow of a Turner sunset. J. M. W. would have rushed to the Embankment, whipped out his sketchbook, then worked up the whole shimmering scene into a six-footer and called it something like “The End of England”. John Constable would probably have turned away to catch the next coach to Hampstead Heath to paint Branch Hill Pond again.
‘One day, they’ll find me out’
How the young Dylan Thomas repeatedly stole from others By Alessandro Gallenzi
Mother was always right
A love-hate relationship recalled by France’s ‘greatest living writer’ By Marie Darrieussecq
The notebook fallacy
Why stylish stationery won’t change your life By Ian Sansom
COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE – JANUARY 7, 2026
COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Portmeirion’ – A vision of the picturesque.
A peculiar genius
Kathryn Ferry salutes the fore-sight of Clough Williams-Ellis a century on from the opening of his Picturesque confection at Portmeirion in Gwynedd
The winter ritual of wassailing is an ancient plea for abundant apple harvests that is indulged in to this day, finds Laura Parker
Shoot for the stars
Relive the most memorable moments of the past 100 years with 22 incredible images chosen by Lucy Ford, Emily Anderson and Carla Passino
London Life
Will Hosie considers how water defines and divides Londoners and ponders the possible renewal of a rivalry between the National Gallery and Tate Modern, plus our writers have all you need to know this month
In the garden
Grow ground nuts, says Mark Diacono, and enjoy tubers with a taste of nutty new potatoes
Helen Allen’s favourite painting
The executive director of the US Winter Show picks an intriguing portrait sporting a quizzical look
Country-house treasure
John Goodall is captivated by the fighting cats in a 17th-century mosaic above the Long Library fireplace at Holkham Hall, Norfolk
The legacy: Agatha Christie
Kate Green acclaims murder-mystery-writing maestro Agatha Christie, whose 66 detective novels have sold more than two billion copies worldwide
Playing your cards right
Matthew Dennison is holding all the aces as he traces the history of playing cards right back to 9th-century China
The good stuff
Glide seamlessly into 2026 with Amie Elizabeth White’s stylish selections for the ski slopes
Interiors
Giles Kime welcomes the world of possibilities offered by free-standing kitchens and Arabella Youens admires the boot room of a house in Gloucestershire
Shining a light on the past
Carl Linnaeus’s glorious 18th-century herbarium is showcased in a new collection of exquisite photographs by Lena Granefel, discovers Christopher Stocks
Travel
Pamela Goodman takes in peerless Himalayan panoramas from a remote luxury lodge in India and, in her monthly column, wonders what the Normans did for us
Arts & antiques
Actor and poet Leigh Lawson tells Carla Passino why he will never part with memorabilia dedicated to music-hall queen Marie Lloyd, his great-aunt
Scale model
Abundant mackerel was once greeted with garlands thrown into the sea. David Profumo profiles Scomber scombrus
Boomers Daily 