West Country witchcraft and the hanged women of urban Exeter

Why were so many women accused and then put to death in 16th and 17th century Devon?

Hard times: 20th century conflict dominates historical fiction

Research into 650 novels submitted to the Walter Scott prize finds the second world war is the favourite setting for historical novels, while the shifting Victorian and Georgian eras eclipse ‘just a smattering’ of ancient settings

Denis Mack Smith obituary

Eminent historian of modern Italy who was a true populariser of his subject

Hilary Mantel was right – some academics dislike novelists. But why?

Hostility between academics and popular historians has a lengthy history of its own. Yet it doesn’t make sense – nonfiction and fiction nurture each other

Why Lucy Worsley will do whatever it takes to get people involved

The television historian says silly costumes and play acting help get her message across

Spy report that criticised Marlowe for ‘gay Christ’ claim is revealed online

British Library releases ‘Baines note’ in which playwright Christopher Marlowe scandalously suggests Christian communion should be smoked in a pipe

Dictionary of 50,000 surnames and their origins published

Four-year study by linguists and historians of British and Irish records back to 11th century analyses family names

Alex Danchev obituary

Historian and biographer who explored the political and ethical force of art

Lost cities #4: Pompeii was preserved by disaster. Now it risks ruin all over again

The volcanic eruption that destroyed the Roman city also froze it in time – but now, 2,000 years later, it is alive with people who threaten its existence all over again

Antony Copley obituary

Other lives: Historian and campaigner who taught at universities around the world

A tribute to female flâneurs: the women who reclaimed our city streets

The flâneur – the keen-eyed stroller who chronicles the minutiae of city life – has long been seen as a man’s role. From Virginia Woolf to Martha Gellhorn, it’s time we recognised the vital, transgressive work of the flâneuse

Why you should record the stories of your parents or grandparents

The story of GR Gemin’s Italian immigrant parents moving to Wales in the 1950s has inspired his new book, Sweet Pizza. One regret: never recording the oral history of his dad before he died

Tudormania: Why can’t we get over it?

The Long Read: Our fixation with the sexy powerplays of the Tudor court shows no signs of fading. What is it about this 16th-century dynasty that still obsesses us?