England

Barbara Yorke considers the reputation of King Alfred the Great, and the enduring cult around his life and legend.

Roger Lockyer takes a fresh look at the much-maligned James VI of Scotland, who became the first Stuart king of England.

In this edited version of a lecture given on 25 March 1999, to commemorate the anniversary of Cromwell's birth, John Morrill provides us with a series of snapshots, at different ages, of the troubled visionary who aspired to lead a new chosen people out of the bondage of Stuart tyranny.

J.S. Hamilton weighs the evidence and concludes that Edward II and his notorious favourite were more than just good friends.

Michael Hutchings argues that for too long Protestant historians have concentrated on the negative aspects of the era of ‘Bloody Mary' and that, in sharp contrast, there are positive achievements to her credit.

Penelope Corfield explores the interdependent relationship between crown and capital from the 17th century onwards that the monarchy ignored at its peril.

Barry Coward grapples with a question which has become more difficult to answer as a result of recent scholarship. He finds the answer lies in the New Model Army, in religious passion and in Charles himself.

Jeremy Black takes a fresh look at the complex and controversial career of the First Earl of Chatham, the 'great outsider' of Hanoverian Britain.

Alex Werner previews a new exhibition on skeletons at the Museum of London.

Seeing the potential of the new technology, William Henry Smith opened his first railway bookstall on 1 November 1848.