When Summer Meant Sea Serpents
For the Victorians and Edwardians, the late British summer was a time of sun, sand – and sea serpents.
Social
The Hunt for Martin Marprelate
Who was Martin Marprelate, seditious pamphleteer and enemy of the Elizabethan Church and state? And, more importantly, how could he be stopped?
Spain Was Different: Tourism Under Franco
How did Spain, Western Europe’s last dictatorship, become one of its most popular tourist destinations?
Reduce and Seduce at the Teenage Beauty Farm
Malibu’s 1960s Beauty Farm aimed to get a new generation of teenagers marriage-ready
‘I Humbly Beg Your Speedy Answer’ by Mary Beth Norton review
‘I Humbly Beg Your Speedy Answer’: Letters on Love and Marriage from the World’s First Personal Advice Column by Mary Beth Norton reveals the 17th-century origins of the agony aunt.
‘Language and Social Relations in Early Modern England’ by Hillary Taylor review
In Language and Social Relations in Early Modern England Hillary Taylor listens in the archives for the voices of ordinary people.
The Speed of Early Modern News
How did Western Europe learn of the fall of Constantinople, the loss of Negroponte, and the Ottoman defeat at Lepanto? In the early modern era all news was slow news.
The Hidden Diary of Samuel Pepys
When Samuel Pepys’ diary was first published 200 years ago it was an instant hit, but rumours soon spread about what had been cut and why.
‘Liverpool and the Unmaking of Britain’ by Sam Wetherell review
In Liverpool and the Unmaking of Britain, Sam Wetherell discovers a city of slavery, ships, soccer, and socialism, whose fortunes rose and fell with the tide.
Remembering South Vietnam
With North Vietnam’s victory in 1975, its southern counterpart ceased to exist. What happened to South Vietnam?