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.
In 1706 a little-known mathematics teacher named William Jones first used a symbol to represent the platonic concept of pi, an ideal that in numerical terms can be approached, but never reached.
The great explorer’s skill and courage rescued a whole expedition from disaster after a struggle that lasted nearly two years. ‘Not histrionics but steady and constant leadership saved Shackleton and his men’.
St George only gained popularity in England in the 15th century and Richard the Lionheart had nothing to do with his adoption as the nation’s patron saint.
In 1709 Russia emerged as a major power after a clash of armies in Ukraine. Peter the Great’s victory, Derek Wilson argues, had repercussions that last to this day.
John Kirk charts the progress of the civil rights movement through its most prominent body, the NAACP.
Michael Dunne reflects on past US presidential Inaugurals, and the words which still resonate.
Robert Pearce attempts to put the Prime Minister of 1970-74 into historical perspective.
Mark Rathbone analyses the causes and consequences of sudden changes of policy in nineteenth-century British politics.
What was the nature of the clandestine correspondence between the future Catherine the Great and the British ambassador to St Petersburg?
