European history

Reviews of nonfiction history, biography, and autobiography

Classical & Medieval Eras

The Penguin Book of the Undead: Fifteen Hundred Years of Supernatural Encounters – Scott G. Bruce, ed. (mythology & folklore, literature, paranormal)

The Restless Kings: Henry II, His Sons and the Wars for the Plantagenet Crown by Nick Barratt (royalty, Plantagenets, Great Britain)

The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present by Ronald Hutton (cultural studies, mythology & folklore, witchcraft and witch trials)

Renaissance & Reformation Eras

Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey by Nicola Tallis (biography, Great Britain, royalty, Tudors)

Elizabeth’s Rival: The Tumultuous Life of the Countess of Leicester: The Romance and Conspiracy that Threatened Queen Elizabeth’s Court by Nicola Tallis  (biography, Great Britain, royalty, Tudors)

In Search of a Kingdom: Francis Drake, Elizabeth I, and the Perilous Birth of the British Empire by Laurence Bergreen (voyages of discovery, Great Britain, Tudors)

A Magical World: Superstition and Science from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment by Derek K. Wilson  (science, philosophy, religion, magic)

Royal Witches: Witchcraft and the Nobility in Fifteenth-Century England by Gemma Hollman (royalty, Great Britain, witchcraft allegations)

Thomas Cromwell: A Revolutionary Life by Diarmaid MacCulloch (biography, Great Britain, English Reformation, Tudors)

Victorian & Edwardian Eras

Edward VII: The Prince of Wales and the Women He Loved by Catharine Arnold (biography, Great Britain, royalty)

The Shadow Emperor: A Biography of Napoleon III by Alan Strauss-Schom (biography, France, Second French Empire)

Those Wild Wyndhams: Three Sisters at the Heart of Power by Claudia Renton (biography, Great Britain, aristocracy)

20th Century & Current Affairs

The Last Queen: Elizabeth II’s Seventy Year Battle to Save the House of Windsor by Clive Irving (British Royal Family)

Queen of the World: Elizabeth II: Sovereign and Stateswoman by Robert Hardman (British Royal Family)