Neither a Borrower Nor a Lender Be
What sort of society produced Shakespeare?
Literature
Marketing Dennis the Menace
How has The Beano’s Dennis the Menace survived the rise of television, increased cultural consumption and the digital age?
Stop Press
It is often claimed that press censorship came to an end in England at the close of the 17th century. But it persisted, thanks to an unsavoury network of government spies.
The Moral of the Victorian Children’s Story
Illustrated picture books in Victorian England reached new aesthetic heights. But was it always for the benefit of the children?
Catullus and Lesbia’s Sparrow
Roman poet Catullus transformed an unremarkable bird – the sparrow – into a contested symbol of eroticism.
Beowulf the Bro
A new translation finds Beowulf comfortably at home in the 21st century.
The Romantic Reputation of John Keats
On his death, John Keats and his work looked sure to be forgotten. Why is his poetry now so well-loved?
What’s in a Name?
Erasing women writers in the name of uplifting them.
Angels Ever Bright and Fair
The ‘Angels of Mons’, a short story written in the earliest days of the First World War, became an enduring symbol of British providence.
The True Meaning of Frankenstein
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is not a commentary on the Industrial Revolution, nor is it a simple retelling of the myth of Prometheus. It is far more original than that.