CONTENTS OCTOBER 2023
FEATURES
EVERY MONTH
22 Templars on trial Steve Tibble asks why the Knights Templar were charged with horrific crimes in the 14th century
28 Street life in Pompeii Sophie Hay reveals how an Italian archaeologist transformed our understanding of the doomed city
35 Hunting the Nazi ‘Angel of Death’ Gerald Posner discusses his mission to track down the notorious concentration-camp doctor Josef Mengele
40 Hate mail Emil y Cockayne exp l ore s what ‘poison-pen’ letters can tell us about societal changes and prejudices
48 The real Dick Whittington Michael McCarthy tells the true rags-to-riches story of the four-times mayor of London
56 When pirates ruled Asia’s waves Adam Clulow r eveals how eas t Asian raiders terrorised the seas off China from the 16th century
62 The woman with the butterfly bug Patricia Fara tells the story of a groundbreaking lepidopterist who made waves in the 17th century
6 Anniversaries
The Conversation
11 S p o r t s w a s h i n g 14 How people with learning disabilities made ends meet 17 Michael Wood on the ongoing
legacy of the slave trade 18 Hidden Histories
20 Letters 54 Q&A History questions answered
Books
66 Interview: Jonathan Sumption
on the Hundred Years’ War 70 New history books r ev i ewed
Encounters
7 7 Diary: What to se e and do
this month 82 Podcast: Renaissance beauty 84 Explore: Rubh’ an Dunain, Sk ye 86 Historic Cities: Paris
88 Prize crossword
90 My h i s t o r y he r o
Dame Rachel de Souza picks Jesuit founder Ignatius of Loyola
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35
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