What is Histories, then?
Histories is a regular journal exploring the hidden corners of history, usually in the English-speaking world, particularly Britain as that’s where we’re based.
Each week we’ll send you an article on a historical theme. Andrew’s Histories channel offers carefully curated excerpts from articles, diaries, letters and memoirs of the past; these alternate with Paul’s History of Things channel, delving into the stories behind everyday objects and products we take for granted.
Paying subscribers can also access the previous History by Numbers series plus a collection of history-related ebooks and occasional bonus content. And more generally, if you enjoy reading these articles, please consider a paid subscription as a small form of patronage!
Histories is brought to you by history journalist and editor Andrew Chapman – I’ve been writing in the history field since 2003. Between 2015 and 2018 I ran the magazine Your Family History and since 2011 I have been editor of Discover Your Ancestors; since 2023 I’ve also been the editor of Local History News. I also compile British history news, books and other features at the Heritage Hunter website. The History of Things is by Paul Lenz, a writer and researcher alongside being director of finance at a non-profit software organisation. Together we have collaborated on all sorts of other projects over the years!
We’re in the UK so a lot of our material comes from British history, but we also look across the whole English-speaking world sometimes for interesting tales to share. But you’ll have to forgive our British spellings.
(Speaking of spellings, we have sometimes lightly edited some of the historical extracts to modernise spelling and some punctuation, purely for clarity, while preserving the words and tone of the original writers.)
If you like this sort of stuff, do please spread the word, too! Please click the like button that comes with each newsletter, and use the sharing options: these things make a huge difference. And if you come across great sources for these sorts of stories, please let us know! Replies to the newsletter will come directly to us and we to hear your ideas and comments.