HistoryExtra Long Reads

The Enlightenment was an era of open-eyed progress, of the advance of science and reason – right? So why, in the 18th and early 19th centuries, did British people continue to be hoodwinked? This Long Read written by Madeleine Pelling exposes eight frauds and forgeries from a golden age of hoaxes. Today's feature originally appeared in the May 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voice...

The US Declaration of Independence was formally adopted on one famous day in July 1776. Yet this celebrated event was the product of years of misunderstandings and escalating tensions. On the 250th anniversary of the birth of a nation, this Long Read written by George Goodwin traces the evolution of one of the most consequential documents in history. Today's feature originally appeared in the July...

When Elizabeth II ascended the throne in 1952, she could barely have conceived the currents – imperial retreat, multiculturalism, deindustrialisation – that would transform the nation during her reign. This Long Read, written by David Cannadine, explores how she navigated seven decades of dizzying change. Today’s feature originally appeared in the May 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has b...

Today, we think of the seven deadly sins as outdated definitions of moral flaws prohibited by the church. But as this Long Read written by Peter Jones reveals, these vices were originally conceived to provide medieval solutions to universal human problems. Today's feature originally appeared in the May 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn mor...

The eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 buried Pompeii and its citizens beneath pumice, stone and ash for centuries. But, as this Long Read written by Jess Venner reveals, we can now reconstruct the lives of its citizens before the catastrophe. Today's feature originally appeared in the May 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad ch...

Nell Gwyn became famous for her love affair with Charles II, and for her love of drinking, gambling and carousing. Yet, as this Long Read written by Sophie Shorland explores, this upwardly mobile celebrity was also a canny political operator who wielded substantial power in court. Today's feature originally appeared in the April 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voiced in partnersh...

It’s a tale of slavery, racism and naked imperial power. This Long Read written by Barnaby Phillips traces the fate of the exquisite golden treasures looted by British forces from the kingdom of Asante 150 years ago. Today's feature originally appeared in the April 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcast...

In the Middle Ages, the bearing and raising of children defined women’s lives. But, as this Long Read written by Elinor Cleghorn explains, there were women who had other ideas and boldly challenged attitudes towards motherhood. Today's feature originally appeared in the April 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...

From Romulus’s open-city policy to Claudius’s reforms, citizenship was used by Rome as both a reward and a weapon. As this Long Read written by Shushma Malik explains, it enabled the burgeoning empire to build power and define identity. Today's feature originally appeared in the April 2026 issue of HistoryExtra magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad ch...

It’s 80 years since the war victor and ex-prime minister Winston Churchill delivered his ‘Iron Curtain’ speech, sounding the alarm for a perilous new age. The speech, given as tensions with Stalin soared, is among the most famous in modern history. Yet, asks this Long Read written by Richard Toye, has it been misunderstood? Today's feature originally appeared in the March 2026 issue of HistoryExtr...

Dark or brunette? Fair or swarthy? A paragon of beauty or a refined charmer? Our picture of Henry VIII’s ill-fated second queen has become distorted over five centuries – but new research by Owen Emmerson and others comes closer to revealing her true appearance. This Long Read, written by Owen, explains more. Today's feature originally appeared in the March 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and...

The 20th century was a golden age for organised crime groups. This Long Read written by Ryan Gingeras reveals how gangs from the Sicilian Mafia to Mexico’s cartels capitalised on political chaos, economic upheaval and mass migration to spread their tentacles around the world. Today's feature originally appeared in the March 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership wi...

Shakespeare and his peers served up hearty helpings of diverse dishes and ingredients – many of them spiced with forgotten meanings. This Long Read written by Sam Bilton reveals how food allusions illustrate five key themes of everyday life. Today's feature originally appeared in the March 2026 issue of HistoryExtra magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your...

By 1889, Jack the Ripper's grisly murders had sparked terror throughout London. So when the mutilated body of a woman was found beneath railway arches near the Thames, a coded alert was dispatched to warn metropolitan police divisions: "Another Whitechapel." But her killer wasn't Jack. Following her recent BBC Two series, this Long Read, written by Lucy Worsley, investigates the horrifying crimes...

How do civilisations collapse? That was the question at the heart of Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Two hundred and fifty years after it was published, this Long Read, written by Guy de la Bédoyère, argues that Gibbon's magnum opus remains a landmark in the writing of history. Today's feature originally appeared in the February 2026 issue of HistoryExtra M...

Extremism was on the march across continental Europe in the 1920s and 1930s – yet Britons chose a different, more moderate path. This Long Read, written by Alwyn Turner, explores why Britain largely tuned out the strongman theatrics and held to a more moderate course. Today's feature originally appeared in the February 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with th...

1066 is synonymous with the battle of Hastings. Yet while Duke William of Normandy was launching his conquest of England, the rest of Europe had its own crises to contend with. This Long Read written by Charles West takes us on a tour of the continent during this dramatic year. Today's feature originally appeared in the January 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voiced in partnershi...

At the turn of the 12th century, two men from a Staffordshire village died suddenly. Their lifeless bodies were taken to the local graveyard and solemnly laid to rest – but a few days later, they were apparently spotted walking around the village, with their coffins on their backs. This Long Read written by John Blair investigates the medieval terror of the living dead. Today's feature originally...

Britain’s War Office thanked the SAS for its remarkable efforts in WW2 by abolishing it – yet soon realised the error of its ways. This Long Read written by Gavin Mortimer tells the story of how the elite unit reinvented itself to confront the challenges of the postwar world. Today's feature originally appeared in the January 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership...

Killing, burning, pillaging, enslaving. Even when heading to sunnier climes, Viking raiders deployed the same tactics that they had used along the shores of northern and western Europe, as this Long Read written by Thomas Williams reveals. Today's feature originally appeared in the January 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your...

Women accused of violent murders have often faced assumptions about their motives and disbelief that the ‘gentle sex’ could commit such bloody crimes. This Long Read written by Rosalind Crone investigates four such cases from the 19th century. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from HistoryExtra Magazine, the new name for BBC History Magazine. Today’s feature originally appeared...

Boxing and football? In a Winter Olympics? In October? Held in 1908, the first ever Winter Games was an experimental affair – but, according to this Long Read written by Martin Polley, it was one that sowed the seeds for future and snowier competitions.  Today's feature originally appeared in the February 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn...

As the conflict with Nazi Germany raged on, British tram drivers tuned in to Tchaikovsky and waitresses revelled in Wagner. But why? This Long Read written by Alexandra Wilson explores the surprising Second World War obsession with opera. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from HistoryExtra Magazine, the new name for BBC History Magazine. Today’s feature originally appeared in th...

David Musgrove investigates whether the iconic embroidery was simply one of many A new theory, put forward by Professor John Blair, questions whether the world-famous embroidery was unique. In this Long Read, David Musgrove asks the experts whether there could have more than one ‘Bayeux Tapestry’. Today’s feature originally appeared in the December 2025 issue of BBC History Magazine, and has been...

Ancient accounts of Julius Caesar’s early life depict an all-action hero who outwitted tyrants and terrorised bandits. But can they be trusted? This Long Read written by David S Potter investigates... Today’s feature originally appeared in the December 2025 issue of BBC History Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/ad...