History Blogs

Discover the best independent blogs about history on BlogRolly.

• Nuclear risks briefing — Not many people know that a few bombs threaten everyone. In this nuclear risks briefing I demystify nuclear weapon risks
• Claude McKay’s Harlem Shadows, “If We Must Die,” and Congressional Confusion — Surprising research finding. I revisited Claude McKay's Harlem Shadows for Black History Month and unpacked the history
• The Brief, Brilliant Career of Rita Senger — Who was Rita Senger, the illustrator behind a 1915 Vogue cover and the August 1919 Vanity Fair? My post traces her swift
• Langston Hughes, Teenaged Poet — Did you know Langston Hughes first appeared in The Brownies' Book in 1920, with poems, a Toluca travel piece and a gradu
• Magazine Ads of 1921: Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down, and Meh — Which 1921 magazine ads actually make me want to buy something? I sift through the June 1921 Ladies' Home Journal ads an
• I Read a Random 1920 Book — A random pick from the 1920 Book Review Digest landed me Elements of Retail Salesmanship, a funny and surprising window
• Jane Austen’s Life 100 Years Ago — Ever wondered how Jane Austen appeared to readers in 1920? I found Oscar Firkins' 1920 book during a lonely spring in Wa
• The Best and Worst of the New Yorker’s First Issue — Curious about the New Yorker's 1925 debut? Growing up with a subscription and a huge cartoon collection meant I read the
• The Top Posts of 1923 — Wondering which 1923 posts drew the most readers? I count down my top posts of 1923, from my deep dive into Claude McKay
• My Magical Journey to 1922 — Picture June 1922 and the advertising pages of The Ladies' Home Journal. I wandered those vintage 1922 ads, savoring a d
• Did College Shrink Your Breasts? A Quiz — Angry and curious, I dug up a 1918 Educational Review essay and turned Henry Maudsley’s claims into a cheeky quiz to tes
• 10 1918 People I’m Thankful For — Who helped make the better world we live in? In my Thanksgiving piece 10 1918 people I'm thankful for, part of My Life 1
• Robbing the Doctor: 17th-Century Medics as Victims of Crime — I combed Old Bailey records to recover vivid stories of early modern medical practice. In 16th and 17th century London p
• Give No Heed to the Walking Dead — Some policy ideas never die; they just keep shambling back. I’m arguing against recycled grand strategy takes that ignor
• Polite Parisians: Really? — I wander through 19th-century Paris looking for the truth behind that famous French rudeness. From café manners to stree
• The Parisian Lifestyle: Old When Young, Young When Old — I look at the strange rhythm of growing up in old Paris, where youth behaved like miniature adults and elders clung to y
• Louise: What Was It Like to Be a Ballerina — A portrait from old Paris that tells a bigger story clothes, posture, and the quiet codes of class and respectability. I
• Parisian Prostitutes: The Jolies Madames — Here I follow the “pretty ladies” who lived between demimonde glamour and social risk. Through police records and gossip
• Parisian Prostitutes: The Clandestines — Not all sex work in old Paris was visible. I trace the hidden networks of clandestine prostitution maids, seamstresses,
• The Opera of Paris: We Procure Our Ballerinas for Wealthy Men — Behind the glitter of the Paris Opera sat a darker arrangement. I explore how young ballerinas were introduced to wealth
• Tuberculosis: When Dying Became Fashionable — In 19th-century Paris, consumption was tragic and strangely romanticized. I trace how tuberculosis shaped beauty standar
• The Marriage Market — Marriage in old Paris worked like a marketplace, complete with negotiations, reputations, and careful positioning. I loo
• Without a Dowry: The Business of Marriage — What happened to a woman with no dowry in 19th-century Paris? I follow the narrow paths left open work, compromise, or c
• The Scandalous George Sand: Just Being Herself — George Sand refused to behave, and Paris never quite forgave her. I follow her affairs, her clothes, and her unapologeti
• Nightmares in wax — Wax cylinder nightmares: antique recordings haunt Victorian gramophones. Analog ghosts whisper through modern playback.
• Lady Báthory was Right — A provocative cultural essay reframing historical myth, morality, and power using Lady Bathory as a lens to examine narr
• Adam Smith — A critical reading of Adam Smith that pushes back against simplistic “free market” mythology, emphasising his moral phil