The Bloomsbury Group transformed British culture in the early 20th century – and its impact can still felt across the world today. So, how did this small set of artists, writers and thinkers become so influential? In today's Long Read, Frances Spalding argues that the answer lies in the strong bonds between its members.

HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the January 2024 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB.

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What can brutal murders reveal about society at the time they were committed? And what additional insights can we gain when those killings were committed by women? In today's Long Read, Rosalind Crone, historical consultant on the BBC series Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley, reveals what six murder cases can tell us about women’s lives in the 19th century.

HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the January 2024 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB.

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Julius Caesar's murder is often seen as the event that ushered in the age of emperors. Yet, argues Shushma Malik in today's Long Read, structural weaknesses had plagued Rome's republic long before his death.

HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the Christmas 2023 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB.

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For some servicemen hardened by a long military career, death in battle is preferable to simply fading away in old age. In this Long Read, Joshua Levine tells the story of one such man, a retired naval officer who leapt bravely back into the fray during the Second World War – at the age of 70.

HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the Christmas 2023 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB.

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Matilda of Scotland, wife of Henry I, did perhaps more than any other figure to bridge the chasm between the Anglo-Saxons and their Norman conquerors. So why, asks Joanna Arman in this Long Read, has she been written out of history?

HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the Christmas 2023 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB.

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The Boston Tea Party is often cited as a model of peaceful civil protest. But, as Elinor Evans reveals in today's Long Read, on the 250th anniversary of this milestone in America's foundational story, it occurred against a backdrop of bloodshed.

HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the Christmas 2023 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB.

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In 1969, everyone from Prince Michael of Kent to Billy Butlin competed in a dash between London and New York aboard tandems, sedan chairs and jump jets. In this Long Read, Rachel Harris-Gardiner recalls a madcap forerunner of BBC's popular reality competition Race across the World.

HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the Christmas 2023 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB.

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From dodging deceitful street hustlers and menacing bandits to dealing with the looming threat of food poisoning, sea sickness and even death, medieval travel could be a dangerous business. In today’s Long Read, Anthony Bale offers eight sage pieces of advice for those planning to pack their bags and embark on a journey to a foreign land in the Middle Ages. 

HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the December 2023 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB.

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From the mid-1920s, Adolf Hitler saw a dramatic transformation in the eyes of the German public – from the buffoon who had botched a coup, to a true patriot who could deliver Germany from chaos. A century on from the Munich Beer Hall Putsch, Frank McDonough explains how Hitler turned a bloody fiasco into a political triumph, in this Long Read.

HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the December 2023 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB.

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As the Walt Disney Company celebrates its centenary, it seems a fitting time to reflect on the legacy of the iconic House of Mouse. In this Long Read, John Wills traces the company’s story from its early animations to global blockbusters – and the political controversies it courted along the way. 

HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the December 2023 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB.

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