Christmas 2015 cover

Christmas 2015

Articles from the Christmas 2015 issue of BBC History Magazine

Gustave Doré's famous engraving, produced to illustrate the 1872 book 'London: A Pilgrimage', depicts (and exaggerates) the squalor of tightly packed terraced houses. Yes, as Rosalind Crone observes, the washing lines in Doré's picture demonstrate that "slum-dwellers were not all very dirty - or, at least, they didn't choose to be". (Photo by Getty Images)

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Was Victorian life really so grim? 5 reasons why the Victorians were 'happy'. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A customer shops for a pistol at Freddie Bear Sports sporting goods store in Tinley Park, Illinois

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The historians’ view: what are the real issues in the US gun control debate?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A reconstruction of a Viking church

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Vikings in America: the Europeans who arrived 500 years before Columbus. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration of the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865

Victorian

Jamaica's Morant Bay Rebellion: brutality and outrage in the British empire

British ships on convoy duty in the North Atlantic

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Danger in the deep: key questions about the Battle of the Atlantic answered. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Britons watch Queen Elizabeth II’s Christmas message in 1958. (© Topfoto)

20th Century

A brief history of the Christmas Speech

An illustration from 1883 shows the phrenology chart of the skull

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The Victorian phrenology craze. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots

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Deadly rivals: Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Portrait of Henry V of England

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My history hero: Henry V. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

KRISTOFER HIVJU GAME OF THRONES

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Game of Thrones: medieval inspiration. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BBC History Magazine

My favourite place: Ian Kershaw

Charles VI of France (1380–1422)

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Owain Glyndwr: The last Welsh Prince of Wales. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A view over Munich, Germany

20th Century

My Favourite Place: Munich, Germany