Latest Publications
from the Institute of Historical Research
Spotlight
The battle for land ‘in the national interest’ during Britain’s Second World War
In this – the penultimate contribution to our ‘Environment and History’ series – Gary Willis considers the much-contested ‘national interest’ and its role in wartime land-management. Taking us to the British countryside before, during, and after, World War Two, the post considers how interest groups lobbied, and policy decisions were made, about the rural environment, and alerts us to the political potency of the ‘national interest’ as a concept in times of national emergency — such as the current pandemic.
Historical Research
Rehabilitating the past: the former ruling house of Germany wants financial compensation
In this post, Karina Urbach, Senior Research Fellow at the IHR, introduces ‘Useful idiots: the Hohenzollerns and Hitler’, her new article for the Institute’s journal, Historical Research.
Polesworth abbey (Warws.) and the Marmion lord of Tamworth castle
In this post Nigel Tringham writes about the research for his new ‘Historical Research’ article, published in June 2020. As Nigel explains, founding a a monastic house in middle ages could be a complicated affair.
Latest issue of Historical Research
The May 2020 issue of Historical Research is now available, published by Oxford University Press.
Silken Priests: Catholic Disguise and Anti-Popery on the English Mission 1569-1640
The early modern historian, Sarah Johanesen, discusses her research on disguise within Catholic culture, and the place of physical deception in anti-papal conflict and intra-Catholic disputes.
Victoria County History
A Farm in February – reading the agricultural past in a picture
This blog draws on that research and examines the English farming landscape in the years after the Second World War as drawn by Ronald Lampitt, an artist best known for his work in the Ladybird series of children’s books. This precise landscape may never have existed – it could be Kent, but the distant mountains might stand for the Malvern hills – but the story told is a national one.
Popham: recreating a Victorian village via the census
In this post Nancy Rickman, an A-Level History student, describes her placement with the Hampshire Team of the Victoria County History earlier in 2020. Nancy sets out her time with VCH Hampshire: discovering the value of census returns for regional history, and how this important source can be used to recreate life in a single village.
New from the Victoria County History of Leicestershire: Ibstock
The latest title in the VCH Short series is Ibstock, from the Victoria County History of Leicestershire. Written by Pamela J. Fisher, Ibstock is the third Short title from VCH Leicester and is published in paperback print and ebook by University of London Press.
New from the Victoria County History of Essex: St Osyth to the Naze: North-East Essex Coastal Parishes, Part 1
The latest publication in the Victoria County History (VCH) series for the county of Essex is the first part of volume XII, St Osyth to the Naze: North-East Essex Coastal Parishes and is now available from Boydell & Brewer.
Bibliography of British and Irish History
Bibliography of British and Irish History: February 2021 update adds records of 4670 new publications
The ‘Bibliography of British and Irish History’ (BBIH) is a record of over 627,000 books, articles and essays relating to the British and Irish past, worldwide. The Bibliography is updated three times each year with curated records of the recent publications. The February 2021 update is now out, adding detailed records for 4670 new titles, the great majority of which are for recent works published between 2019 and 2021.
The Bibliography of British and Irish History goes to war
In this post, Isaac Woolley — one of the IHR’s 2020 summer interns — discusses his research using the Bibliography of British and Irish History on which he worked. What can BBIH tell us about publishing trends in the subject of modern warfare?
Bibliography of British and Irish History: October 2020 update adds records of 4425 recent publications
The October 2020 update of BBIH – the IHR’s ‘Bibliography of British and Irish History’ – is now available. The new update adds detailed records of 4425 recent publications on the British and Irish pasts and British world history.
What’s trending in new historical writing? Four perspectives from the Bibliography of British and Irish History
The Summer 2020 update of the Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH) adds records of 4200 recent publications. Here we spot some trends from this new historical writing, including histories of celebrity and the ‘animal turn’.
Reviews in History
‘Reviews in History’, 2020: the year in review
During 2020 the IHR’s Reviews in History site has published reviews and responses on 75 notable monographs and edited collections. This post highlights a few of the themes to emerge from a year in Reviews and thanks all those who contribute to this important branch of scholarship, especially in 2020.
Reviews in History: call to join our editorial advisory board
‘Reviews in History’, the IHR’s academic reviews service, is looking to extend its editorial advisory network: if you’d like to share your expertise and recommendations for new History books and publishing, then please do get in touch. We look forward to hearing from you.
Latest books from Reviews in History
The latest summary of books included in the IHR’s ‘Reviews in History’ service, including studies on Peterloo, Renaissance art crime, and a curious and illuminating story of eighteenth-century rabbit breeding.
‘Collaborators’ and ‘Crashed’: short, sharp readers’ Reviews
Last month we launched a new strand to the IHR’s Reviews in History series: readers’ short commentaries on books that impress. We begin with two studies of modern world turmoil, and a readers’ guide to new works on early modern religious practice.
Open Access Publishing
#OpenAccess at the IHR: five new publishing initiatives
For OpenAccess Week 2018 (21-28 October), five initiatives from the IHR on disseminating its scholarly content and new forms of publishing for historians.
Open Access Week 2017: share and aware
Researcher awareness and engagement with open access data and sharing is increasing, that is according to a 2017 State of Open Data Report published by Figshare this week. This does not come as a surprise to me and, as a publisher of open access research in a variety...
A new open access series with the Royal Historical Society
The IHR has the great pleasure of announcing our partnership with the Royal Historical Society (RHS) to publish a new, open access series of monographs and shorter form works, further solidifying our commitment to open access. New Historical Perspectives will seek to...
Digital development: a commitment to OA
When I joined the IHR in early August, I did so with the challenging assignment of helping to further the Institute’s mission to embrace the opportunities of digital content delivery and enable greater access to knowledge, in line with the School’s Statement on Open...