History Extra

BBC History Magazine aims to shed new light on the past to help you make more sense of the world today. Fascinating stories from contributors are the leading experts in their fields, so whether they're exploring Ancient Egypt, Tudor England or the Second World War, you'll be reading the latest, most thought-provoking historical research. BBC History Magazine brings history to life with informative, lively and entertaining features written by the world's leading historians and journalists and is a captivating read for anyone who's interested in the past.

WELCOME NOVEMBER 2026

THREE THINGS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE

THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS

ANNIVERSARIES • DANNY BIRD highlights events that took place in November in history

“When we cram black history into one month, more complex stories can be lost” • As Black History Month enters its 40th year in the UK, historian PAULA AKPAN talks to Danny Bird about the benefits and drawbacks of exploring diverse experiences under one umbrella

“I had a rollercoaster journey from Airfix kits to the Beatles”

WHAT WE’VE LEARNED THIS MONTH • JAMES OSBORNE highlights insights shared by experts on our HistoryExtra podcasts

“She transformed war surgery, smoked cigars and took female lovers” • KAVITA PURI on the extraordinary story of a lesbian Lithuanian princess and surgeon

LETTERS

History Extra

BATTLE STATIONS • Over turbulent millennia of human warfare, defensive sites - castles, fortresses, walls - have evolved to embrace and repel new tactics and techniques. Dan Jones takes aim at seven landmark structures that each defined a new era - or the end of an age

SPORTY SUFFRAGETTES • In the early 20th century, sport came to be regarded as a male-only activity – by men, anyway. As Rachel Hewitt explains, the overlooked history of women’s participation in cricket, golf, wrestling, hockey and even mountaineering is intertwined with the emergence of the suffragist movement

ACTIVISM IN ACTION • Three suffragist sportswomen who made their mark

If you could travel back in time, where in history would you go? • Our historians, broadcasters and authors board a time machine to experience the most fascinating events and eras of centuries past

PHONEY WARS • Not all battles are won by superior firepower or numbers – sometimes sneaky strategies triumph over sheer might. Iain MacGregor recounts five clashes from history when subterfuge, misdirection and manipulation secured victory

Q&A • A selection of historical conundrums answered by experts

ROME’S WAR OF WORDS • When an ambitious Seleucid king marched his vast army into Europe to challenge the Roman Republic for control of the Mediterranean world, it looked set to spark a violent clash of the ancient titans. Instead, as Michael Economou reveals, the cunning Romans deployed another potent weapon: diplomacy

If walls could talk • IAN MORTIMER explains how viewing the past from the perspective of his medieval Devon house reveals new truths about England’s national story

“This land ain’t big enough for the both of us” • Are two leaders better than one? Not if Viking Orkney is anything to go by. Judith Jesch journeys back to an earldom in which the practice of appointing co-rulers produced a cycle of treachery, intrigue and death

MAGIC, POWER AND VIKING RULE • A beginner’s guide to The Saga of the Earls of Orkney

HERO VILLAIN …BOTH? • Francis Drake sailed around the globe and was a leader of the fleet that defeated the Spanish Armada - the ultimate Elizabethan A-lister He was a brutal pirate who trafficked enslaved Africans and ravaged Spanish ships and ports Elaine Murphy holds up a mirror to the contradictory faces of Tudor England’s most lauded - and ruthless - naval...