Sex, scandals and celebrity were all part of a blame and shame culture that existed in the 18th century, one that often fed off the misfortune of women at the hands of men. Prostitutes, courtesans and ladies with injured reputations took up the pen in retaliation.
Christians have long relied on scribes’ copies of Biblical texts; J. K. Elliot describes how the Codex Sinaiticus, discovered in 1844, dates from the fourth century.
Simon Yarrow reviews a title on John Wyclif and Lollardism.
Bartitsu – rather than Baritsu – was a hybrid martial art that flourished in fin de siècle London. As an amateur boxer, Arthur Conan Doyle was fascinated.
Janet Copeland introduces one of the most important feminist figures in twentieth-century history.
The most influential of 19th-century Russian wits was born on 31 March 1809.
Byron’s love affair with bare-knuckle boxing was shared by many of his fellow Romantics, who celebrated this most brutal of sports in verse. John Strachan examines an unlikely match.
Kenneth Baker on poetry inspired by nations warring between themselves.
Mark Bryant describes the life and works of Abu Abraham, the Observer’s first ever political cartoonist.
Richard Cavendish provides an overview of the life of Daphne du Maurier, who was born on May 13th, 1907.
