The Friday Digest brings you the best of the week's history news gathered from the experts:
* On Tuesday 14 May, Dan Brown's latest novel Inferno was released. Now the first reviews are out but who will be most inconvenienced by the release? The title has been very high-profile; the translators were even locked in an underground bunker to avoid plot leaks, which was unsuprisingly a 'mentally exhausting experience'. For those of us living under a rock, Inferno is based on the first chapter of Dante's Divine Comedy which chronicles Dante's fictional descent into hell. The BBC has put together a 10 point tour of the underworld for those who are unfamiliar with Dante's most famous work.
* David Starkey has been causing controversy again after stating that it is 'ludicrous' to suggest that historical novelists have authority. When we asked our readers what they thought of Starkey's comments, it started a huge discussion over on Twitter with people weighing in on both sides of the argument. One of our authors even wrote a response to Starkey over on his blog.
This week we asked you whether accuracy or story is more important in historical fiction, but Starkey is questioning whether historical fiction is relevant at all. Do you think historical fiction is relevant to historians?
* Thursday 16 May marked the 70th anniversary of the Dambusters raid with a flypast at Derwent. Codenamed Operation Chastise, fifty-six of the men who took off on the mission did not return. Out of nineteen bombers, eight were shot down. Three men were captured and fifty-three were killed. The Telegraph has revisited how the Dambusters raid unfolded, hour by hour with the BBC retracing the daring journey. Whilst many at the time thought it was merely a propaganda exercise, the raid was actually much more effective than many people realised.
The only surviving British Dambuster, George ''Johnny'' Johnson was interviewed about Guy Gibson. It is absolutely fascinating to hear about a legend from someone who knew him...
* Grammar and language is back in the news this week, with The Guardian outlining the grammar rules that everyone should follow and the BBC looking at bad grammar and the people who hate it. Design Taxi has collated the best illustrations of unusual and rarely spoken words whilst Salon looks at the modern history of swearing. (Warning, some very strong language is used in this article but it does make for fascinating reading.)
* Did the Egyptians stop building pyramids because they were too perfect?
* 10 May marked the 105th anniversary of Mother's Day (don't panic UK readers, this is the US holiday not Mothering Sunday!)
* A subterranean Victorian street in Keighley is set to reopen after being abandoned for 120 years. Much of the Victorian building work was still intact and builders also found original doors, signs and fittings rendering it very atmospheric.
Would you shop in the redeveloped arcade?
* How do you like your classic lit: in lingerie or a ballgown? Book covers play a huge role in the book selection process and the idea that a female author must be marketed as 'chick-lit' has been causing controversy. Katy Brand says chick-lit will survive - but urges readers not to count all female authors in. Author Maureen Johnson recently called for an end to gendered book covers with her Coverflip project, but asks after the initial wave of enthusiasm, what happens next?
* A Stirling teacher's first edition books have fetched a cool £226,000 at auction this week. The collection included first editions of classic works such as Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1843), The Wind In The Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908) and Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited. A first edition of F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby was bought for £1,875.
* Can writers ever love reading when they know the work that has gone into it?
* Ten things to love about print books
* The highs and lows of modern life would be unthinkable without social media, but History Today argues that the Edwardian postcard, with it's brevity and speed, was a precursor to Twitter. Do you agree?
* This stunning video of London in 1927 is as if a postcard has been brought to life - it's amazing to see how much the capital has changed in less than a century!
* Even if you can't read the whole article, just knowing that John Le Carré has a poster that says 'Keep Calm and Le Carré On' is surely enough to get a smile?
* How does a scandal become a -gate?
* A pretty grim story to round off the week (don't read this if you are of a delicate disposition or about to eat lunch). The man who was killed by a mouse...
Which history and publishing stories have you enjoyed reading this week?