NOVEMBER 2016
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On the throne for just nine days, Lady Jane Grey famously managed the shortest reign in English history before the accession of Mary Tudor in 1553. In a Tudor age often renowned for its brutality, it might seem a foregone conclusion that Jane would lose her life as well as her crown. Yet, as Nicola Tallis reveals in this month’s cover feature, Mary was far from keen to execute her young cousin. In the end, it was the machinations of others, including members of Jane’s own family, that finally secured her downfall. Turn to page 50 for Jane’s tragic story.
I’m sure it hasn’t escaped your attention that we are about to reach the 950th anniversary of the battle of Hastings and the Norman conquest that marked the beginning of a new era in the country’s past. In this month’s edition we cover the event from two angles. Firstly, on page 26, Alex Burghart explores the key milestones of 1066, a year pockmarked with battles and invasions. Then, on page 33, Marc Morris considers what the real significance of the Conquest was for the inhabitants of the British Isles.
Another, more recent, milestone that we are marking is the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster, when a coal waste tip collapsed close to a Welsh village, killing 144 people, predominantly children. Filmmaker Steve Humphries has revisited the event for a new BBC documentary and on page 58 he movingly recounts the shock and the legacy of October 1966. Rob Attar Editor BSME Editor of the Year 2015, Special Interest Brand
THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS
Nicola Tallis Lady Jane Grey is one of history’s most tragic victims, but my research examines the path that brought her story to its fatal conclusion. It’s full of intrigue, con ict and the battle for power. P Nicola reveals how Lady Jane Grey was cursed by her royal blood on page 50
Kevin Ruane The story of Winston Churchill’s transition from would-be atomic warrior in the early Cold War to nuclear peacemaker in the mid-1950s is, I think, one of the most fascinating but least well-known of his long career. P Kevin explores the ‘nuclear’ Churchill on page 22
Catherine Merridale I’ve done Lenin’s journey, but I stayed every night in a comfortable place or in a coupé. To do it sitting up with very little food and not knowing what was going to happen next, travelling through wartime Germany, must have been very hard. P Catherine discusses Lenin’s epic train journey on page 63
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1066
HOW THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS WAS WON
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Churchill, the Cold War and the Bomb
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