Below you will find links to some interesting history-related articles I’ve read (and listened to) recently, a photo from a recent history-related outing, and an item about the history/practice of writing.
Enjoy!
History writing
- Hallie Rubenhold’s book, ‘The Five’, was one of my inspirations for doing a history degree. I’m currently enjoying her BBC Radio 4 series of essays, ‘Intimate Histories’, which looks at the practice of history and encourages us to view the past from the bottom up, rather than the top down. (Be quick, looks like it’s only available online for another few days.)
- At the beginning of the 20th Century, Trinity College Dublin offered special graduation ceremonies to the women of Oxford and Cambridge who, despite completing their studies, were not allowed their degree certificates.
- A really heartwarming story about how learning the vanishing trade of typewriter repair changed the course of one man’s life.
- A brief tour through the history of Britain’s ancient woodlands, their legacy, and the few remaining people keeping the related traditions and skills alive.
History
‘Fall of the citadel: Aerial bombardment’, Saint-Malo, 1944, by Lee Miller.
Lee Miller was a model who became a photographer and worked as a correspondent for Vogue during the Second World War. Usually she was restricted to non-combat areas, but in the summer of 1944, a bureaucratic error saw her sent to Saint-Malo in France while it was still a live battleground. Miller was the only photojournalist in the area for several days and took an extensive range of exclusive photos. The picture above, however, was not published at the time. Everything coming out of war zones was checked by military censors. This image was stopped because, unknown to Miller, it showed an early use of a secret new weapon – the firebomb, napalm.
The photo is part of an exhibition at Tate Britain in London until mid-February 2026. This is the camera Miller used to take many of her images:
Lee Miller’s 1943 Rolleiflex camera in front of her US war correspondent formal dress uniform.
Writing
The strange and futile history of the repeated attempts to simplify the English language.
