Cultural

Each period has its heroes who inhabit the moment. Today we are living in the age of the sporting superstar.

Robert Colls asks what British identity is - and what it is not.

The cityscapes of the world’s most populous nation are expanding at a bewildering rate. But China’s current embrace of urban life has deep roots in its past, as Toby Lincoln explains.

An 18th-century ménage à trois involving the King of Denmark inspired the recent film, A Royal Affair.  Stella Tillyard considers what makes it a story for our times.

England has been conflated with Britain for so long that unravelling English history from that of its Celtic neighbours is a difficult task. Paul Lay considers recent histories of England and its people.

Roger Hudson on the circumstances behind an eviction in County Clare, Ireland, photographed in July 1888.

God's general was buried on August 29th, 1912.

As the democratic franchise expanded in the 19th century, British historians were eager to offer an informed view of the past to the new electorate. We need similar initiatives today, argues John Tosh.

A classic children's book was born on July 4th, 1862.

The pioneer of English travel writing was born on June 7th, 1662.