APRIL 2018

CONTENTS

Features

Every month

6 ANNIVERSARIES 11 HISTORY NOW 1 1 The latest history news

14 Backgrounder: transgenderism

Read about the blunders that blighted Brunel’s career, on page 40

20 Alexander Hamilton The American founding father wasn’t quite as heroic as the hit West End musical might suggest, argues Tom Cutterham

25 Did the RAF win the war? Patrick Bishop argues that, of the three services, the RAF made the most telling contribution to victory over the Nazis

32 Six lives that shaped China From Confucius to Chiang Kai-shek, Rana Mitter pro les six heavyweights of Chinese history

40 Is Brunel’s genius a myth? Crosbie Smith wonders if the modern-day adulation of the Victorian engineer is entirely justi ed

45 Medieval mystics Hetta Howes describes the extraordinary lengths to which some women went to establish a hotline to God

16 LETTERS 19 MICHAEL WOOD’S VIEW 50 OUR FIRST WORLD WAR 77 BOOKS Wereviewthelatesttitles,plus JohnJuliusNorwichdiscusseshis newbookonthehistoryofFrance

87 TV & RADIO The pick of new history programmes

90 OUT &ABOUT 90 History Explorer: slavery

95 Five things to do in April 96 My favourite place: Amsterdam

101 MISCELLANY 101 Q&A and quiz 102 Samantha’s recipe corner 103 Prize crossword

106 MY HISTORY HERO TVchatshowhostMichael Parkinson selects Charlie Chaplin

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54 Henry VIII: king of conflict When the Tudor ruler went to war, men and women from all corners of England felt the consequences, writes Steven Gunn

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61 Martin Luther King Fi y years a er his death, ve historians tackle the most pressing questions on the civil rights activist’s life and legacy

USPS Identification Statement BBC HISTORY (ISSN 1469-8552) (USPS 024-177) April 2018 is published 13 times a year under licence from BBC Worldwide by Immediate Media Company Bristol Ltd, Tower House, Fairfax Street, Bristol BS1 3BN, UK. Distributed in the US by Circulation Specialists, Inc., 2 Corporate Drive, Suite 945, Shelton CT 06484-6238. Periodicals postage paid at Shelton, CT and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE, PO Box 37495, Boone, IA 50037-0495.

32 The gures who changed the face of China

45 The strange world of medieval mystics

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61 Why Martin Luther King still matters in 2018

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