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Signs of life - Michelle Lovric
People often ask me how the diminishing population of native Venetians feels about the tourist hordes that dominate her more obvious streets. (Real Venetians go ‘through the linings’, as their saying...
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Annora of Iffley
The Grade I listed Church of St Mary the Virgin, Iffley, near Oxford, is one of the jewels of Oxfordshire. It is a magnificent example of Norman architecture and style, largely unaltered by later...
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Flawed heroes of the RAF. A tribute to Derek Robinson
On Tuesday, I took my children to St James' Park to see the RAF's 100 anniversary fly-past. It was extraordinary. History flew above our heads - Spitfires and Hurricanes. Early jet planes. The deep...
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Sleeping Your Way to the Top - The 17th Century Theatre
by Deborah SwiftIn the wake of accusations of sexual misconduct at the Old Vic, and the scandal around various Hollywood directors, I thought it would be interesting to investigate the 17th century and...
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Things that go bump in the night - by Lesley Downer
Assorted strange creatures by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)In the 19th century, a time of particular upheaval and uncertainty in Japan, people would spend a summer evening sitting around telling ghost...
View ArticleThe Big Lie
by Marie-Louise JensenHitler first mentioned die große Lüge - the big lie - in his work Mein Kampf. The principle behind it was that people tell small lies themselves all the time in their everyday...
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James Cook: The Voyages: at the British Library - by Sue Purkiss
This August, it will be 250 years since James Cook's first voyage to the southern seas. As the introduction to this exhibition states: 'In 1768 the coasts and islands of the pacific, although inhabited...
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MRS WOOLF AND THE SERVANTS by Alison Light. A reflection by Penny Dolan.
While visiting Helmsley Walled Garden, within the grounds of the castle, I was lucky enough to find MRS WOOLF AND THE SERVANTS by Alison Light, published in 2007, on the second-hand book shelves. A...
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RESERVE POST Following in the Footsteps of Dirk Hartog by Rosemary Hayes...
In October 2016 I went on a month long trip promoting my shipwreck books in Western Australia and taking part in the celebrations to mark the 400th anniversary of the landing of the Dutch mariner, Dirk...
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The Men Named Epaphroditus by L.J. Trafford
Large stone inscription found on the Esquiline Hill. The name Epaphroditus is visibleRoman names are annoying. All those Gaiuses, Luciuses and Marcuses. Gaius Octavius calling his son Gaius Octavius....
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Little discs of beaten silver by Carolyn Hughes
All of my posts so far for The History Girls have been about some aspect of the history of the Meon Valley in Hampshire, the setting for my series of historical novels. I undoubtedly have more to share...
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The Gentle Author's East End Vernacular by Imogen Robertson
I'm sure that most if not all of the History Girls and our readers know of the brilliant blog http://spitalfieldslife.com/ If you're not a regular visitor, then do go and spend some time there and...
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Walking the Krakow Ghetto by Catherine Hokin
Some places, for example Bruges, immerse the visitor in history as if you were walking through a film set. Others, as I discovered in the area which once housed the Krakow ghetto, take you down...
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The Reading Whirlwind and the fate of Henry West, by Leslie Wilson
They were building the new Reading Railway Station, which was to carry businessmen to London, to transact their business in a day and get home in time for dinner, connect Reading to the West Country,...
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MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS: The Identity of the Fontevraud effigies of Henry...
I've had a couple of food for thought moments this week that I thought I'd share with you. Putting together historical facts is like doing a jigsaw puzzle with some pieces missing and some that have...
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The Venetian Secret by Miranda Miller
In the eighteenth century Italy was the centre of the art world. Young artists flocked to Rome, Venice and Florence and were dazzled by the achievements of past generations. It was widely believed...
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The Panthéon welcomes a woman, Simone Weil, by Carol Drinkwater
Every now and again I feel fortunate to stand face to face with a remarkable piece of history. Last week, while I was in Paris, I swung off Boulevard Saint-Michel and strode to the Panthéon where hangs...
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History of the Naked Ape by Susan Price
Warning: This blog is much longer than usual, but it reviews a fascinating book. Why does the human race - supposedly intelligent - keep fighting wars, despite all that can be said against the...
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The Massacre of Glencoe by Lynne Benton
This summer we travelled around Scotland with American friends, touring through the Highlands via the Pass of Glencoe, where our tour guide told us all about the famous massacre. I’d known about it...
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The Importance of Libraries by L. J. MacWhirter
Author photo by Kate Gren L.J. MacWhirter was born just outside London, grew up in the North of England and today lives in Edinburgh with her husband and family. After studying English Literature, Liz...
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