Paul Lay
Paul Lay is the editor of History Today. He is the principal host of the annual London History Festival and judge of the Longman/History Today book prize.
Books by Paul Lay
Providence Lost: Cromwell's Last Year
by Paul Lay
"The reason I wrote the book—which is called Providence Lost: The Rise and Fall of Cromwell’s Protectorate—is because the period has relatively little purchase with the wider public unlike, say, the Tudors or the Victorians or the Normans. That situation is particularly puzzling because there has been so much great scholarship on this period over the last two decades"—Paul Lay, Five Books interview, December 2019.
Paul Lay, editor of History Today, recommended the best history books of 2020 for us (and the best history books of 2018 and 2019 as well).
Interviews with Paul Lay
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1
Napoleon: a Life in Gardens and Shadows
by Ruth Scurr -
2
Plunder: Napoleon's Theft of Veronese’s Feast
by Cynthia Saltzman -
3
The Horde: How the Mongols Changed the World
by Marie Favereau -
4
London's 'Golden Mile': The Great Houses of the Strand, 1550–1650
by Manolo Guerci -
5
The Habsburgs: To Rule the World
by Martyn Rady
Best History Books of 2021, recommended by Paul Lay
Best History Books of 2021, recommended by Paul Lay
Historical writing continues to shed new and interesting light on all manner of topics, including even much-written about subjects like Napoleon, who died 200 years ago this year. Paul Lay, the editor of History Today, offers his choices for the best history books published in 2021.
The Best History Books of 2020, recommended by Paul Lay
From the great Latin poet Ovid, to the poet of the 17th century English republic, John Milton. From the Jews in Reformation Europe, to the world of the Aztecs across the centuries. From the life of Ludwig van Beethoven to the importance of language, in all its varieties, to studying history. Paul Lay, editor of History Today, recommends his favourite history books of 2020.
The Best History Books of 2019, recommended by Paul Lay
From the most brutal siege of World War I to the renewed significance of an ideology many of us had dismissed as defunct, 2019 was a good year for traditional history books on big themes. Paul Lay, editor of History Today, talks us through his picks of the best history books of the year.
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1
Thomas Cromwell: A Life
by Diarmaid MacCulloch -
2
Milk of Paradise: A History of Opium
by Lucy Inglis -
3
Iran: A Modern History
by Abbas Amanat -
4
Invisible Agents: Women and Espionage in Seventeenth-Century Britain
by Nadine Akkerman -
5
Power, Pleasure, and Profit: Insatiable Appetites from Machiavelli to Madison
by David Wootton
The Best History Books of 2018, recommended by Paul Lay
The Best History Books of 2018, recommended by Paul Lay
From female spies during the English Civil Wars to the enduring distinctiveness of Iran, there is much left to be understood about history globally. Editor of History Today Paul Lay recommends the best history books that hit the shelves in 2018.
