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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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
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
Kathryn Ferry salutes the fore-sight of Clough Williams-Ellis a century on from the opening of his Picturesque confection at Portmeirion in Gwynedd
Pour show
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
How do you cope with a Kung-Fu Panda? What do you do when the Temple of Doom strikes? Olly Smith reveals how to deal with hurricane-force hangovers
Interiors
Is design destined to be more Moorish or will Egyptomania rule? Country Life predicts the shape of things to come in 2026 and Giles Kime says painted furniture is key to a laidback look
Jacu Strauss’s favourite painting
The creative director of the Lore Group chooses an intriguing unfinished 1830s painting that is still confounding art experts almost 200 years on
Learn it by art
The story of the British Isles is peppered with ancient artefacts and much-loved monuments. Charlotte Mullins surveys the centuries through 50 treasures, from the Ice Age caves of Derbyshire’s Creswell Crags to Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle at Greenwich in London
Are you ready to order?
Artfully designed menus have long been a tasty proposition for collectors, aided by designs from leading artistic lights such as Ravilious, Bawden and David Hockney, finds John F. Müller
Country-house treasures
John Goodall treads the silver-grey elm floorboards of the remarkably well-preserved 1630s hall dais at Restoration House in Rochester, Kent
Culture and commerce
John Martin Robinson marvels at the rejuvenation of Salts Mill, a vast Victorian factory building at Saltaire in West Yorkshire, founded on the prosperity of the British wool trade
The good stuff
Enter the new year fresh-faced and on tip-top form with the help of Amie Elizabeth White’s selection of skincare stars
Glistens like coral
The proliferation of new types of Japanese flowering quince prompted a four-year RHS trial. Charles Quest-Ritson cheers the rise of Chaenomeles and reveals his favourite varieties
Arts & Antiques
The exquisitely rendered Cornish luggers sailing serenely across Henry Scott Tuke’s 1908 new year card to a friend make it a prized possession for Michael Grist, as he tells Carla Passino
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious
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