The Victorians, Creation, and the Dinosaur Problem
The Earth was created in seven days. On which day were the dinosaurs made?
Victorian
The Hidden Death in the Victorian Wallpaper
Arsenic was a hidden killer in Victorian homes, but it also played a large part in the British economy. Which comes first: commerce or public health?
The Otsu Incident
On 11 May 1891 the future Tsar Nicholas II narrowly escaped assassination on a trip to Japan.
‘Rot: A History of the Irish Famine’ by Padraic X. Scanlan review
Padraic X. Scanlan levels familiar charges against British colonialism and capitalism in Rot: A History of the Irish Famine. Is there more to the story?
What was the Industrial Revolution?
Over the 18th and 19th centuries Britain’s economy, technology, and society were transformed by the so-called Industrial Revolution. Why?
Bismarck’s Britain
The German chancellor Otto von Bismarck saw himself as a puppet-master, engineering British politics from afar in his feud with Gladstone.
‘The Crisis of Colonial Anglicanism’ by Martyn Percy review
The Crisis of Colonial Anglicanism: Empire, Slavery and Revolt in the Church of England by Martyn Percy takes the British Empire’s church militant to task. Is there a case to answer?
Wool Aliens of the British Empire
From imported plant species to water pollution, Britain’s 19th century wool trade transformed the world.
The African King at Edward VII’s Coronation
King Lewanika’s invitation to the coronation of Edward VII was intended to stabilise British relations with the Barotse nation. Instead, it exposed the cracks in the imperial veneer.
Pain Management before Anaesthetics
Surgeons trying to eliminate pain eventually arrived at anaesthesia – but not before a contest with older, more unusual therapies. Why was mesmerism so magnetic?