This month, Queen Elizabeth II is set to reach an unprecedented milestone as she becomes the “rst British monarch to celebrate her platinum jubilee. But is Britain’s longest-reigning sovereign also its greatest? We asked 12 historians to nominate their choice of the country’s most accomplished monarch; you’ll “nd their selections on page 20. No doubt you’ll have your own thoughts on the matter, and please do share those with us through the usual channels.
Elsewhere, we’re returning to the first century AD and the arrival of Roman legions in Britain. How did the island’s inhabitants respond to the invasion? In his piece on page 50, Miles Russell digs into this question, focusing on the Durotriges tribe of south-western Britain.
For decades it was thought that Iron Age Britons had engaged the Romans in a series of bloody battles, but recent discoveries have radically changed our understanding of these interactions.
Like many of you, I’m sure, I’ve long been a fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Arthur Conan Doyle’s brilliant detective is a stand-out character of English fiction – and, seemingly, the embodiment of rational thinking. So it may come as a surprise to learn that Holmes’s creator was a fervent believer in spiritualism, as well as an advocate for the existence of fairies. In their fascinating article on page 57, Fiona Snailham and Anna Maria Barry explore Conan Doyle’s multi-faceted character and reveal that he was far from the only one seeking supernatural answers to the traumas of the age.
Rob Attar
Editor
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• BBC Music – February 2022
• that’s life! – January 27, 2022