SEPTEMBER 2017

CONTENTS

Features

Every month

6 ANNIVERSARIES 11 HISTORY NOW 1 1 The latest history news

14 Backgrounder: high-rise housing

What Britons’ grief on the death of Diana tells us about the nation in 1997, page 50

20 Victoria and Albert Jane Ridley exposes the secret tensions in the apparently perfect royal marriage

25 The best of enemies France and Britain had a great deal in common in the 18th and 19th centuries, say Renaud Morieux and Fabrice Bensimon

28 Wanted by the Nazis Gavin Mortimer on a maverick Brit who took on the Germans in occupied France

30 Lost Viking battles Five forgotten encounters helped shape a nation’s destiny, writes Thomas Williams

38 The unholy holy man Sean McGlynn on how Eustace – monk, bandit, traitor – met a grisly end in 1217

43 It was written in the stars Guy de la Bédoyère describes celestial dramas that in uenced human history

50 The death of Diana Dominic Sandbrook analyses the mood of the nation through its reaction to the death of Princess Diana 20 years ago

57 The History Hot 100 We reveal our 2017 Hot 100 list, featuring the historical gures that have most interested you over the past 12 months

17 MICHAEL WOOD’S VIEW 18 LETTERS 36 OUR FIRST WORLD WAR 65 BOOKS Reviews of the latest releases, plus

Clair Wills discusses her book on immigrants’ lives in postwar Britain

20 Victoria and Albert: was theirs really such a perfect match?

77 TV & RADIO The pick of this month’s history programmes

82 OUT & ABOUT 82 History explorer: Kew Palace

87 Five things to do in September 88 My favourite place: Florence

95 MISCELLANY 95 Q&A and quiz 96 Samantha’s recipe corner 97 Prize crossword

98 MY HISTORY HERO TVpresenterNickHewerchooses theauthorPrimoLevi

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80 EVENTS Details of our events at Winchester and York

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USPS Identification Statement BBC HISTORY (ISSN 1469-8552) (USPS 024-177) September 2017 is published 13 times a year under licence from BBC Worldwide by Immediate Media Company Bristol Ltd, Tower House, Fairfax Street, Bristol BS1 3BN, UK. Distributed in the US by Circulation Specialists, Inc., 2 Corporate Drive, Suite 945, Shelton CT 06484-6238. Periodicals postage paid at Shelton, CT and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to BBC HISTORY, PO Box 37495, Boone, IA 50037-0495. G E T T Y

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38 The violent end of a monk-turned-bandit

65 Clair Wills re ects on postwar immigration

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BBC History Magazine