Plus Terry Deary, the fall of the Tsars, forgotten lives of queer men and much more!
What lurked down the shadowy alleys of Britain’s city streets in the 19th century? While murderers took a lot of the headlines when it comes to Victorian crime, the menace that really concerned people in Victorian Britain were its street gangs. These organised groups, largely made up of young, underemployed men, but with their fair share of female members, were involved in the kind of turf wars and illicit activities that seem all too familiar to us today.
You can learn all about these criminal gangs and more in the latest issue of All About History, available now at a newsstand near you and available to order from MagazinesDirect. Here’s a closer look at our Victorian Underworld feature and the other fascinating stories you can explore in All About History 150.
Victorian Underworld
We welcome Dr Michala Hulme as our guide to the dark corners of Victorian city life as we tour the criminal gangs that terrorised the populations of Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and London. Discover the groups that would lead to the infamous Peaky Blinders.
“io saturnalia”
When the year came to a close and the last of the pre-winter farmwork was done, the Romans celebrated Saturnalia. What was this epic, seven-day festival of food and drink all about? How raucous did it really get? And how did it influence Christmas? Find out in this feature.
Terry Deary Interview
It was a delight and pleasure to catch up with Terry Deary, author of Horrible Histories, this issue. We discuss his path to history through acting and fiction writing, how his famous book series started and dig into his new book, A History of Britain in Ten Enemies.
Forgotten lives of queer men
Post-war Britain was not a safe place to be a gay man, as we explore in this feature with author Peter Parker. We discuss the ways in which men had to hide their sexuality for fear of prosecution, sometimes at the expense of being blackmailed or attacked.
All about feasts
What have feasts meant to human civilisation over the millenia? Who held some of the biggest feasts? What did it mean to sit down to a lavish banquet with Henry VIII in Hampton Court Palace? We explore the multifaceted history of feasts in our All About section this issue.
Plus much more
Also in this issue of All About History:
- It wasn’t just the trials of the First World War that brought down the Tsars in Russia, but years of military failure and mismanagement, as we find out from Mark Galeotti this issue.
- What if Japan had triumphed at the Battle of Midway? Could it have swung the Pacific War and changed how WWII came to an end? We explore the possibilities.
- Medieval medicine was a complex profession and one that many women laboured to perfect, often without much recognition. We celebrate these champions for health this issue.
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