British history

• 
• SOURCE: Verso
  3/31/2020
  

  Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before: A Study in the Politics and Aesthetics of English Misery

  by Owen Hatherley

  Owen Hatherley reflects on the last two UK general elections by charting the musical evolution of The Smiths.

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• SOURCE: The Guardian
  3/23/2020
  

  Malcolm Chase, 1957-2020

  The social historian Malcolm Chase rejected “the enormous condescension of posterity” often to be found in history written by the educated rich.

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• SOURCE: The New York Times
  3/8/2020
  

  Ah, Tea. So Relaxing. But Its History Is Another Story.

  A room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art tells the story of tea and politics, from China to Britain and that “party” in Boston.

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• SOURCE: The Guardian
  2/25/2020
  

  On Behalf of All 'Future Historians,’ Leave Us Out of Your Brexit Rants

  by Charlotte Lydia Riley

  The people who invoke historians of the future are less keen on listening to actually existing historians today.

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• SOURCE: NY Times
  2/25/20
  

  How Churchill Brought Britain Back From the Brink: Erik Larson's Book Reviewed in NY Times

  A review of THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz.

• 
• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  1/30/20
  

  Why Britain Brexited

  by Tom McTague

  For decades, the country has struggled with the challenge facing the modern nation-state: how to balance control and influence.

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• SOURCE: NY Times
  1/10/20
  

  Boris Johnson Might Break Up the U.K. That’s a Good Thing.

  by David Edgerton

  It’s time to let the fantasy of the “British nation” die.

• 
• SOURCE: Time
  1/14/20
  

  Hundreds of Britons Volunteered for a Diary-Keeping Project in 1937. They Left an Invaluable Record of World War II

  The hundreds of unpaid volunteers who participated filled out a series of questionnaires and made regular diary entries. They wrote about the intimate details of their lives as well as their thoughts and feelings about the world around them. 

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• SOURCE: Telegraph
  1/7/20
  

  British National Archives to trial 12-document limit per day for visitors, as academics warn research could be affected

  The National Archives claimed the move was designed to increase efficiency - but faced an immediate backlash from historians who complained their work could become untenable. 

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• SOURCE: BBC News
  1/5/20
  

  Why fewer US students want to learn about UK these days

  Once a bastion of English and History departments, the British studies discipline is waning as American students increasingly put career goals over their love of Charles Dickens, writes James Jeffrey.

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• SOURCE: BBC History Extra
  12/30/19
  

  Sobriety, royal presents and Victorian-era musings on failure: an unexpected history of New Year

  Today, we associate New Year’s Eve with raucous and optimistic parties, followed the next day by hungover resolutions to change our ways in the months ahead. But New Year celebrations haven’t always been so.

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• 12/22/19
  

  Brexit and the End of the United Kingdom

  by Ed Simon

  Because of Boris Johnson’s ascendancy, it must be considered that it is not only inevitable that there won’t be a United Kingdom again, but that it’s necessary that there shouldn’t be. 

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• 12/19/19
  

  Reform or Revolution: England’s Lessons of 1688 for Today and Tonight's Democratic Debate

  by David Walter Leinweber

  As we go forward into the holidays, and then a contentious election, the English example in 1688 continues to provide an important lesson. We can cherish our history and institutions, while still being clear-eyed about necessary changes.  

• 
• SOURCE: New York Times
  12/1/2019
  

  Michael Howard, Eminent British Military Historian, Dies at 97

  A decorated soldier in World War II, he helped reshape the study of war and was knighted in 1986 for his academic work.

• 
• SOURCE: NY Times
  11/19/19
  

  ‘The Crown’: The History Behind Season 3 on Netflix

  As in past seasons, the latest installment of Netflix’s show about the life and times of Queen Elizabeth II melds fact and fiction. Here’s how The Times covered events depicted this season.  

• 
• SOURCE: History.com
  11/15/19
  

  The 1969 Documentary That Tried to Humanize Queen Elizabeth II and The Royal Family

  The idea was to show the royal family in their day-to-day lives. The results were mixed.

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  11/18/19
  

  Fact-checking ‘The Crown’: Did Queen Elizabeth let a known KGB spy work for Buckingham Palace?

  In keeping with the show’s gripping use of history to personalize the queen and other royals, the episode exposes rumors and fears of betrayal among British government officials and leaders, including Winston Churchill.

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• 11/17/19
  

  The Princess and the Press

  by Georgie Blalock

  The more details people craved about the Princess, the more the press found ways to provide them, revealing both the good and bad about Princess Margaret's life and fame. 

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• 11/10/19
  

  The Boer War: The Opening Act in a Violent Century

  by David Carlin

  There is something darkly poetic in the timing of the Boer War. It offered a grim preview of warfare and the social conditions that would shake the world during the 20th century.

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• 11/7/19
  

  14 Ships' Figureheads Weighing Over 20 Tons Arrive at UK's Newest Museum, The Box

  by Orbis Conservation

  In what is the most ambitious sculpture conservation project currently taking place in the UK, 14 monumental 19th century naval figureheads have been saved from decay for the nation.