“ When we think of the First World War – in Britain at least – the images that come to mind tend to be those of the western front: from the desolate, muddy battlefields to the privations of the trenches. But there was another, equally titanic, campaign taking place in the east. In Nick Lloyd’s cover feature he guides us through the eastern front as Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia vied for supremacy across huge swathes of eastern Europe. That’s on page 22.
This issue is published in mid-March, with Women’s History Month in full swing. We’re marking the occasion with two fascinating pieces on different aspects of women’s lives from the past. On page 56 you’ll find Sarah Gristwood’s enlightening survey of female diarists. As well as profiling some of the most remarkable of them, she also questions why they have been relatively understudied thus far. And then, following Sarah’s article, Jackie Ui Chionna profiles Emily Anderson, a renowned musicologist who was also, secretly, one of the greatest wartime codebreakers.
One challenge facing many of us working in the history sphere is how to explore the legacy of the British empire without alienating a great deal of our audience. It’s a question that Sathnam Sanghera has been wrestling with in the writing of his last two books, and in this month’s Conversation he talks to Matt Elton about how the subject might be freed from the ‘culture wars’ surrounding it. You’ll find that on page 11 and, as always, we’d love to know your thoughts.