JANUARY 2021

Happy new year to all our readers. For many of you, I suspect, 2021 can’t have come quickly enough, and one reason for optimism about the coming year is the promising news regarding several Covid-19 vaccines. It’s a remarkable scientific achievement, but not, of course, the first time that deadly diseases have been fought in this way. On page 38, Gareth Williams looks back at the race to inoculate us against smallpox, polio, TB and rabies, revealing the human stories behind these dramatic breakthroughs.

Although overshadowed by the pandemic, Brexit has not gone away, and the transition process is due to have ended by the start of 2021. In our books interview on page 76, Robert Tombs discusses the roots of Britain’s departure from the EU and argues that history has not always been deployed wisely in the Brexit debate. Look out too for Michael Wood’s column (page 13) on a post-Brexit England.

Heading further back in time, our cover feature (page 20) explores the murder of Thomas Becket, which took place 850 years ago. As Emily Guerry explains, the assassins might have ended Becket’s life, but his slaying created a martyr of unparalleled power.

And there’s plenty more to get your teeth into this month, from James Holland on the 1943 invasion of Sicily, to Kavita Puri on South Asians in 1990s Britain and Jacqueline Riding on the conflicting reputation of

Bonnie Prince Charlie on his 300th birthday. I hope you enjoy the issue.