Author: HistoricalHoney

London, as we all know, is brimming with history, and author Catharine Arnold is well known for writing about the less -than-savoury aspects of our nations capital. Throughout her ‘London’ series, Arnold explores the history of prostitution, crime, murder and the dead.  Writing about such dark topics is an art, of which Catharine is a master….

In February 1926, Russian biologist Ilia Ivanov set out for Guinea in French West Africa, where he planned to perform one of the world’s most sensational experiments. He planned to use artificial insemination to cross an ape with a human. …I know… So, Ivanov was an expert in artificially inseminating animals and had use his…

It was my birthday recently, and as I had taken Annabelle on a historical tour of Stratford-Upon-Avon and Warwick for hers, she decided to take me out for a surprise ‘day of revelry’ in the greatest city in the world, London.  Even though I had no idea what we would be doing, I knew that…

After reading a recent article on the Daily Mail (of all places), I was inspired to tell the story of some of the beautiful historical structures that are now falling into a sad state of disrepair. It is a sad reality that nobody has been able to afford the upkeep of these stunning buildings; truly…

I have to say that based on the cover of the book, I would have been unlikely to pick this up off the shelf, let alone read the blurb to see if I would like to read further. However, I am very glad that I am part of the secret book club and therefore had…

Having read Mary Hollingsworth’s new release, ‘The Borgias: History’s most notorious dynasty’ we are inspired to share with you how this family managed to achieve such a reputation. The saying goes that you can’t choose your family, and thank god, as i wouldn’t choose to be part of the Borgia clan. From deceit and treachery to sordid incestual…

Source: no1royalcrescent.org.uk Imagine stepping through a door that will take you back in time. Where would you go? What would you see? Well, on the 21st June 2013 that is exactly what you will be able to do at No.1, The Royal Crescent. Historical Honey was recently invited to take a tour of the museum, now in its…

In the mid-1850s, thousands of hopeful and often desperate people signed up for seasickness, squalor, and hardship for the chance of a new life. Thanks to the Australian and American Gold Rushes, emigration was touted as the solution to overcrowding, ill health, and a lack of marriage prospects and money in the newspapers and town…

Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park was published 200 years ago, in May 1814. It contains a good deal about the Royal Navy, as does Persuasion, which was published soon after her death. Roy and Lesley Adkins are authors of Eavesdropping on Jane Austen’s England and Jack Tar, and here they consider why Jane Austen knew so much about the navy and whether she…

Sitting down to read ‘Who Killed William Shakespeare: The Murderer. The Motive. The Means’, it occurred to me that I really didn’t know much about the man. Yes he wrote plays, was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon and married a woman called Anne Hathaway, but that was about it. I felt a little ignorant to be honest, considering he is known…