Author: HistoricalHoney

Few historians have the courage to challenge entrenched views, or historical misconceptions. Onyeka is one of those historians, who in Blackamoores: Africans in Tudor England, Their Presence, Status and Origins invites us to relook at Tudor history. Onyeka has spent over fifteen years researching more than 250,000 documents from all over England: Blackamoores is the…

When George Beardsworth registered his claim for exemption from military service on grounds of conscience, he knew he would face a difficult path through the war. He would be labelled a coward, a shirker and much worse besides, but while he was prepared for this, he wasn’t prepared for the shocking level of brutality the…

There’s no escaping it: “Keane’s Company” is heavily indebted to Bernard Cornwell’s “Sharpe” series. Even the name of the central character – Keane – sounds like a pun on Sharpe, and it is unsurprising to find an endorsement from Cornwell on the cover of the paperback. With further titles in the offing (“Keane’s Company” concludes…

The European conquests of the Americas brought war, pestilence and death to the communities that populated the continent. Infecting of the Amerindian people with disease cultures to which their bodies where not accustomed caused wide spread devastation, especially in New England, where the population was so affected by small pox that the land seemed to…

Recently I’ve been enjoying books by Leanda de Lisle and Chris Skidmore, discussing the Tudor dynasty and their humble beginnings in Wales.  However, one shining character stands out to me in the story of the Tudors, one who steps out of the shadows of history; that of Henry V’s consort, Catherine of Valois.  The story…

On May 7th 1747, Johanna Magdalena Catharina Judith Van Dorth was baptized in the small church of a village named Warnsveld, in the east of the Netherlands. She died in 1799 after a most remarkable life, after literally being shot in the coffin that became her final resting place. There is not much certainty about Johanna’s…

After watching ‘Shipwrecks: Britain’s Sunken History’ on BBC4, I was really interested to see how Dr Sam Willis could outdo himself. To put it simply, he outdid himself with this book. Dr Sam (as I will refer to him throughout this review) really captured my interest and imagination on the subject with ‘Shipwrecks: A History…

If Emma herself, the snobbish, infuriating but still likeable heroine of Jane Austen’s novel, had read this summary of her situation, she would probably have agreed with it. But by modern standards…just how lucky was Emma Woodhouse? Pros and Cons On the one hand she was featherbedded with an insanely large fortune; she was adored…

Trowelblazers is a new tumblr website dedicated to celebrating the lives of female archaeologists, paleontologists and geologists. These women have been doing awesome work for far longer and in far greater numbers than most people realise. Our Editorial Assistant, Polly Heffer, had a lovely chat with the Trowelblazer ladies and here is what she found out!…

First things first, this is the story of Samson and Delilah, who are both biblical characters. Regardless of how much you want to dispute its historical credentials, I still think this book is worthy of our first review.  As a ballpark, I’d say 30% of this book is based on real historical content. The other 70%…