Political

Before the secret ballot, voting in Britain was a theatrical, violent and public affair. The Act that made democracy private turned 150 this year.

Three generations of the cursed House of Dudley stained the executioner’s block in 16th-century England. Were its members murderous villains working to overthrow the Tudor crown, or shrewd political agents struggling to survive? 

There is value in a leader who lies – but only if it is done for the greater good.

What were Indian nationalists thinking?

The UK Parliament was not designed for women with children and this continues to present challenges for new parents. How far have things changed? 

For most Egyptians independence came with the revolution of July 1952, not with the end of the British protectorate in February 1922. Yet, as the experiences of three patriotic writers show, independence did not mean freedom.

A ringside seat to British domestic politics, from Chamberlain’s meeting with Hitler in October 1938 to the fall of Mussolini in July 1943.

Alcohol was an integral part of diplomacy in early modern Russia.

As revolutions swept across Europe, Polynesian polities also witnessed dramatic changes when monarchies were rebuilt and traditional societies transformed.

The House of Lords, often in the shadow of the Commons, asserted its power during the reigns of James I and his son, Charles I. But it would be eclipsed by civil war.