February 11, 2015
The Life and Death of Mr. Basketball
Elliott Van Zandt taught former Italian Fascists the art of American basketball and transformed a sport for the nation.
Read MoreRoundtable
Opinions and analysis from Lapham’s Quarterly writers and editors.
August 3, 2025
January 14, 2015
Friends and Lovers, Lords and Ladies
The lovers of Downton Abbey become more passionate with age.
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January 09, 2015
A Coronation to Remember
In Episodes 6 and 7 of Marco Polo, the women of the Mongol and Song empires take center stage.
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January 07, 2015
Assassinations, Attempted and Achieved
Episodes four and five of Marco Polo are filled with intrigue—but what of the achievements of the real Kublai Khan?
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December 31, 2014
The Intentional Deception
In this short story, everyone at a New Year’s party does their part to make the old year stretch out a little longer.
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December 28, 2014
Living My Best 1848 Life
Every summer, I spent more waking hours of my life in the nineteenth century than I did in the modern day.
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December 23, 2014
A Brief History of Bad Santa
Once a symbol of all that was cheerful and good, the many faces of Santa have not always shared his loving spirit.
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December 17, 2014
Sex, Swordfights, and Secrets
In episodes two and three, Marco Polo takes more than a few historical liberties.
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December 15, 2014
Keeping Up with the Khans
Netflix’s Marco Polo chronicles the adventures of the Renaissance traveler. But does the TV epic do its historical figures justice?
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August 07, 2023
Monumental Mistakes
2023:
Fitness instructor carves his girlfriend’s name into the Colosseum.
c. 1850:
Thompson of Sunderland makes his mark on Pompey’s pillar.
May 22, 2023
Revolutionary Lovebirds
2023:
Writers on strike search for romance at the picket line.
c. 1945:
Young communists engage in party matchmaking.