Contents

4 Reviews

5 Editorial (Read article - open access)

6 ‘Since singing is so good a thing’: William Byrd on the benefits of singing – Katharine Butler (Read article)

11 Letters

12 A history of Choral Evensong: the birth of an English tradition – Tom Coxhead (Read article)

17 Reviews 

18 Building new futures by rewriting the past: how operas have recreated history – Simon Banks (Read article)

23 A land without music? – David Fleming (Read article)

30 Arctic aspirations: Britain and Icelandic independence, 1917–18 – Ben Markham (Read article)

36 Slavery, child labour, or a grand day out? Hull’s agricultural hiring fairs, 1870–1950 – Stephen Caunce (Read article)

42 Hearing the call to arms: Herbert Douglas Fisher, the International Brigader from a famous family forgotten for eight decades – Adrian Smith (Read article)

48 Real Lives: Jessie Reid Crosbie – Alyson Brown, Dan Copley and Jack Bennett (Read article)

52 HA Conference 2023, general strand: a review – Paula Kitching

55 Podcasts – small audible talks on history

56 Crusade in Crisis: the Siege and Battle of Antioch, 1097–98 – Andrew Buck (Read article)

60 My Favourite History Place: Burton Agnes Hall – Susan Walton (Read article)

64 Out and About in Ardmore, County Waterford – Trevor James (Read article)

Regular features: Access all past editions of our regular features Real Lives, History Abridged, My Favourite History Place and Out & About

Cover image: ‘The Enraged Musician’ by William Hogarth, 1741

Contributions to The Historian: Contributions are welcomed for consideration for possible publication but the HA cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts nor guarantee publication. All enquiries should be sent initially to the Historical Association, 59a Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4JH or email us at: thehistorian@history.org.uk. The publication of a contribution by the HA does not necessarily imply the Association’s approval of the opinions expressed in it.