BBC History Magazine

BBC History Magazine aims to shed new light on the past to help you make more sense of the world today. Fascinating stories from contributors are the leading experts in their fields, so whether they're exploring Ancient Egypt, Tudor England or the Second World War, you'll be reading the latest, most thought-provoking historical research. BBC History Magazine brings history to life with informative, lively and entertaining features written by the world's leading historians and journalists and is a captivating read for anyone who's interested in the past.

WELCOME DECEMBER 2022

THIS ISSUE'S CONTRIBUTORS

ANNIVERSARIES • HELEN CARR highlights events that took place in December in history

The League of Nations expels the Soviet Union for its aggression • The USSR's invasion of Finland sparks global condemnation

“Hilary Mantel changed the way we think about history“ • Following the death of the Wolf Hall author in September, three experts pay tribute to her literary skill, research and insight - and highlight how she transformed the worlds of history and historical fiction

THE HISTORIAN'S VIEW • Roger Moorhouse on the ways in which recent developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict echo the Second World War

HISTORY NEWS IN BRIEF

The history that shaped the Queen's funeral • People around the world were transfixed by the scale and splendour of Elizabeth II's funeral in September - a ceremony that drew explicitly on centuries of British royal traditions. TRACY BORMAN reveals how such events have changed, yet remained the same, across generations

TRENDING SCIENCE FICTION

HIDDEN HISTORIES

“We paid respect to the late monarch but also projected an idea of Britain”

LETTERS

BBC History Magazine

Marching into infamy • RJB Bosworth reveals how the March on Rome which saw Benito Mussolini's Fascist squads seize power a century ago - set Italy on a path to totalitarianism

TIMELINE The rise of the Fascists

FASCISM'S GLOBAL ALLURE • How events in Italy energised Europe's far right in the 1920s

QUEENS OF BLING • When Henry VIII's wives sought to project messages about themselves to the watching world, they often did so via jewellery. Using six portraits, Nicola Tallis reveals how the consorts’ choice of pendants, rubies and brooches shaped their public images

“She was in the world of change but somehow apart from it” • Throughout her reign, Queen Elizabeth II remained a constant presence in an era of vast social, technological and geopolitical transformation. Anna Whitelock charts an era in which Britain, but not its queen, changed beyond recognition

The BBC at war • The 1944 Normandy landings marked a turning point in the Second World War - and a milestone in war reporting. DAVID HENDY describes the months of effort that allowed the BBC to report effectively from the front line

Recording goes mobile - and miniature

THE BOY WHO DISCOVERED THE BOY KING • When Howard Carter located the entrance to Tutankhamun's tomb, he became an archaeological hero. Yet, as Toby Wilkinson reveals, the British Egyptologist failed to credit the person behind the historic find

SURPRISING TREASURES OF THE TOMB • Tutankhamun took an array of objects with him to the grave. Here's a selection of eight of the most unusual

A DYNASTY OF DESPOTS • From the colossal temples of Luxor to Tutankhamun's golden death mask, the pharaohs of ancient Egypt's golden age created some of history's greatest treasures. Yet, writes Guy de la Béyère, behind the glittering facade lay a society built on brutality, inequality and staggering levels of corruption

REIGNS OF TERROR • Eight of the most powerful figures of Egypt's golden age

SCURVY, SWEAT AND STUNTED GROWTH...