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Men's Clothing in the Early 1700s
by Marie-Louise JensenHas there ever been a time when dress for men was more colourful, extravagant and downright splendid than the first half of the eighteenth century? I'm speaking of the wealthy, of...
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Detecting the Dark Ages, by Sue Purkiss
At one point when I was researching Warrior King, my book about Alfred the Great, I was trying to nail down his brothers. Not literally, you understand: the Vikings may have gone in for that sort of...
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Snow, Snow and even more Snow. Penny Dolan
The weather forecasts are full of snow, especially snow that matters in the South. It’s a time for watching the hungry birds snatch scraps from the bird table and appreciating the pleasures of working...
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1940's Knickers and Ruby Slippers - Celia Rees
I recently visited the Hollywood Costume Exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum*. It was very popular. I went with my daughter and we were reduced to a shuffle as we wound round the different...
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Loch Leven Castle & Mary Queen of Scots: by Theresa Breslin
Sometimes in our minds historical figures are inextricably linked to particular places. In the case of Mary, Queen of Scots, among the many castles connected with her name Loch Leven is remembered as...
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'Writing to Music' by A L Berridge
There are really only two types of writers: those who need music when they write, and those who don’t. I’m the wishy-washy type who sometimes does and sometimes doesn’t, but if I don’t find the right...
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Going to Church, Going to School - by Imogen Robertson
Clare Parish ChurchMy New Year’s resolution is to spend more time in church. To be more precise, it is to spend more time in churches. I haven’t become religious, though I sometimes think every...
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THE PAST AS LUCKY DIP, by Jane Borodale
Bran tub, 1922 (Berkshire Newspapers)Something that historical novelists are supposed to do is to 'capture the spirit of the age' in which their book is set. Books are very often judged according to...
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ELSE URY, MY MOTHER'S FAVOURITE CHILDREN'S AUTHOR, by Leslie Wilson
Among the few things I have that stem from my mother's girlhood is a collection of five books for children and young girls dating from the twenties and thirties; in gothic script, with illustrations...
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HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN AND THE LITTLE MERMAID
BY ESSIE FOXDulac's illustration to show the little mermaid meeting the prince.Hans Christian Andersen was the Danish author of many classic fairy tales such as The Snow Queen, Thumbelina, The Little...
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THE KING IS DEAD! Killer facts from the 1970s - by Eleanor Updale
I flicked on the telly the other morning and saw Simon Schama giving his all, yet again, in a rerun of his series on the History of Britain. He was doing the Norman Conquest and, as you might expect,...
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SLEEPWALKING IN ODESSA – Dianne Hofmeyr
I arrive in Odessa in a trance. The Black Sea crossing had been turbulent. All through the night, the prow of the boat had plunged through gigantic rollers. In sharp sunlight, the wide shady boulevards...
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Memorial Day, going back a while.
This time a year ago the History Girls rallied round me. I lost my true love: they let me off blogging duties for months, sent exceptionally kind messages, and had a whip-round to send me rosemary, for...
View Articlethe bletherin
The Burns Supper season is upon us, that moment in dreary January when Scots all over the world dust down their Scottishness, their bagpipes and The Complete Burns; when men hunt for haggis and women...
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Pepys, Egyptian Mummies and Wool Smuggling. by Deborah White
Our guest this month is children's writer Deborah White. Welcome Deborah! (If you read to the end you will discover how seriously she takes her guesting responsibilities).Deborah White was born in...
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THE HISTORICAL OBJECTS I'D MOST LIKE TO OWN, by Leslie Wilson
Photograph: David WilsonThese dogs live in the Zwinger porcelain museum in Dresden, where I saw them three years ago. They are not Dresden china, however, but Japanese, from the late seventeenth...
View ArticleJanuary Competition
We have five copies of Deborah White's book, Deceit, which she wrote about here to give away to the best answers to this question:"If you were a seventeenth century smuggler, bringing something in or...
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Hidden Saints by Mary Hoffman
They are everywhere around us, the hidden saints, if you know where to look. This one is Saint Hilary of Poitiers and I was alerted to him by an article in the Oxford Times. If you have any knowledge...
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Emma and Nelson and the Birth of Modern Celebrity - Lucy Inglis
What is a celebrity? The term comes from Middle English and Old French and literally means ‘celebrated’ or ‘famous’. Both the reality and the concept of fame have been at the centre of British...
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The Joys of Time Travel by Eve Edwards
I have a question for you. If I had a time machine at my disposal, where would you like me to take you? Ancient Rome? The Boston Tea Party? The Court of Ming Chengzu? Fully inoculated against the...
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