https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/books/RSS feed for BooksenMon, 11 May 2026 15:17:59 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-remembers-mary-boleyn-as-the-scandalous-other-boleyn-girl-new-research-debunks-the-myths-surrounding-the-tudor-mistress-180988703/Sylvia Barbara Soberton's latest book challenges the perception of Anne Boleyn's sister as "promiscuous, intellectually incurious and unambitious"Mon, 11 May 2026 15:17:59 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-remembers-mary-boleyn-as-the-scandalous-other-boleyn-girl-new-research-debunks-the-myths-surrounding-the-tudor-mistress-180988703/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/jack-kirby-was-a-kid-from-the-lower-east-side-who-became-the-king-of-comics-and-made-superhero-mythology-now-new-york-city-has-named-a-street-after-him-180988700/The artist who co-created Captain America and other iconic characters is being honored in the neighborhood where he grew upThu, 07 May 2026 19:31:11 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/jack-kirby-was-a-kid-from-the-lower-east-side-who-became-the-king-of-comics-and-made-superhero-mythology-now-new-york-city-has-named-a-street-after-him-180988700/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-real-winnie-the-pooh-lives-at-the-new-york-public-library-when-queen-camilla-visited-the-bear-she-reunited-him-with-a-dear-friend-180988661/On a state visit to the United States this week, the queen of the United Kingdom became the first British royal to visit the library as she fulfilled a mission to complete the set of toys that Christopher Robin once ownedFri, 01 May 2026 20:19:47 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-real-winnie-the-pooh-lives-at-the-new-york-public-library-when-queen-camilla-visited-the-bear-she-reunited-him-with-a-dear-friend-180988661/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/researchers-discovered-a-lost-copy-of-the-oldest-english-poem-composed-by-an-illiterate-cowherd-more-than-1300-years-ago-180988644/This version of "Caedmon’s Hymn" shows how Old English evolved. It also features early use of a punctuation mark that readers of English take for granted today—the period—but not in the expected wayThu, 30 Apr 2026 15:39:39 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/researchers-discovered-a-lost-copy-of-the-oldest-english-poem-composed-by-an-illiterate-cowherd-more-than-1300-years-ago-180988644/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/walt-disney-visited-a-ford-factory-in-1948-what-he-witnessed-there-laid-the-groundwork-for-what-would-become-disneyland-180988551/A new book argues that the film producer's trip to the River Rouge plant in Michigan inspired him to embrace the power of automation when designing the first Disney theme parkMon, 27 Apr 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/walt-disney-visited-a-ford-factory-in-1948-what-he-witnessed-there-laid-the-groundwork-for-what-would-become-disneyland-180988551/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/after-john-keats-love-story-was-cut-short-his-letters-mysteriously-disappeared-until-rare-book-dealers-acted-on-a-hunch-180988585/Eight letters that John Keats penned to his fiancée before his untimely death are “the literary find of a lifetime”Tue, 21 Apr 2026 18:53:06 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/after-john-keats-love-story-was-cut-short-his-letters-mysteriously-disappeared-until-rare-book-dealers-acted-on-a-hunch-180988585/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/ancient-humans-mastered-fire-now-burning-fossil-fuels-and-blazing-landscapes-threaten-to-undo-the-world-180988531/Intensifying wildfires across the continent are spewing air pollution, putting human health at risk, particularly Americans living with chronic illnessesThu, 16 Apr 2026 11:00:03 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/ancient-humans-mastered-fire-now-burning-fossil-fuels-and-blazing-landscapes-threaten-to-undo-the-world-180988531/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/in-1776-the-declaration-of-independence-was-breaking-news-heres-how-the-founding-document-reached-the-american-public-180988494/A new book by historian Emily Sneff records the journeys of the Declaration's first printed copies, tracking their reception in the Thirteen Colonies and overseasMon, 13 Apr 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/in-1776-the-declaration-of-independence-was-breaking-news-heres-how-the-founding-document-reached-the-american-public-180988494/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/see-the-amazing-images-that-showcase-the-short-brilliant-lives-of-honeybees-throughout-the-seasons-180988495/A new book follows the insects through rain and shine and highlights the unique behaviors of each bee in a colonyTue, 07 Apr 2026 16:24:25 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/see-the-amazing-images-that-showcase-the-short-brilliant-lives-of-honeybees-throughout-the-seasons-180988495/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/queen-ghetto-gave-new-york-immigrant-community-voice-century-later-reemerging-180988409/Anzia Yezierska wrote from experience then worked hard to make sure her work found an audience. Then a new audience found herTue, 07 Apr 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/queen-ghetto-gave-new-york-immigrant-community-voice-century-later-reemerging-180988409/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/charles-dickens-searched-the-streets-of-london-and-found-inspiration-for-his-evocative-fiction-180988451/A three-part BBC series will examine how real events shaped the 19th-century British author's writing. The show is part of the National Year of Reading in the U.K.Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/charles-dickens-searched-the-streets-of-london-and-found-inspiration-for-his-evocative-fiction-180988451/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-skeleton-found-beneath-the-floor-of-a-dutch-church-may-belong-to-dartagnan-the-fourth-musketeer-180988448/Workers discovered the skeleton during recent repair work at the church in Maastricht. D'Artagnan died during the siege of the city in 1673Fri, 27 Mar 2026 21:36:20 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-skeleton-found-beneath-the-floor-of-a-dutch-church-may-belong-to-dartagnan-the-fourth-musketeer-180988448/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/the-king-and-i-spotlights-an-english-governess-who-modernized-siamese-society-the-real-anna-leonowens-exaggerated-her-influence-and-lied-about-her-origins-180988394/The beloved musical is loosely based on a Eurasian schoolteacher's accounts of her time at King Mongkut's court. These memoirs masked her mixed-race status and unfairly portrayed the monarch as a tyrantFri, 27 Mar 2026 11:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/the-king-and-i-spotlights-an-english-governess-who-modernized-siamese-society-the-real-anna-leonowens-exaggerated-her-influence-and-lied-about-her-origins-180988394/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/nine-black-college-students-were-arrested-in-1961-for-reading-at-a-segregated-public-library-their-contributions-to-the-civil-rights-movement-have-long-been-overlooked-180988422/Known as the Tougaloo Nine, the demonstrators staged a sit-in that helped the NAACP push for the desegregation of public spaces in Mississippi's capitalThu, 26 Mar 2026 11:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/nine-black-college-students-were-arrested-in-1961-for-reading-at-a-segregated-public-library-their-contributions-to-the-civil-rights-movement-have-long-been-overlooked-180988422/