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I was first introduced to the master of epic storytelling four years ago…however, it took me a whole year to actually pick up the recommended read; ‘The Pillars of The Earth’. Why did I wait so long I hear you ask? Well, to be honest, I wasn’t convinced that the building of a medieval church was something I wanted to commit…

Have you ever visited a museum, looked at the people who work there and thought “how have they got to work in such an amazing place”? If you didn’t have the courage to ask them how, then this is the article for you! I decided to do the groundwork, and asked my friends and colleagues about…

Sure, you might have a brother who is captain of the football team. Or even a sister who thinks she’s the next Adele. But how about having not one, not two, but THREE sisters who were all queens? Not prom queens. Not dancing queens. I mean crown wearing, butt kicking, cloak and dagger queens. Beatrice…

Imagine you are a traveller in Jane Austen’s day. Unless you own a carriage, you’ll travel by stage- or mail-coach, post-chaise or hired horse, breaking your journey where necessary at an inn. A busy coaching inn is never quiet; doors open and slam shut, bells ring (to summon service), and guests are constantly coming and…

It’s not every day that an undiscovered portrait of William Shakespeare is brought to your attention.  But having spent many an hour scrutinising images of Shakespeare for my book, Who Killed William Shakespeare? (The History Press, 2013) I was very excited to be contacted about a painting which might be an authentic portrait of the Bard. The…

I was intrigued by the title of this book, wondering if there was anything new to be said about the Ark.  By the end, I had discovered a great deal about the development of the myth and the transition from Mesopotamian legend to biblical account. More than that, I had discovered what the Ark actually…

When Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt in 1798, he was accompanied by 167 scholars, his Commission on the Sciences and Arts. Their work revealed a dazzling world of ancient temples and tombs to European eyes. The expedition’s results, published in the 23-volume Description de l’Égypte, made Ancient Egypt fashionable. The rage for collecting Egyptian antiquities, and…

On a warm August day we descended into the depths of the Thames Tunnel at the Brunel Museum for an evening in ‘Iceland’; the setting of Hannah Kent’s début novel, Burial Rites.  Source: All photos © ive.readthat.com Rather than give the audience a synopsis of the novel, Hannah answered the question we all wanted to know; how exactly does a…

Nine  hours  travelling,  squalid  sleeping  arrangements,  too  much  to  drink  and  money  lost  during  late  night  card  games. Not  a  scene  from  a  20th Century  teenage  gap  year,  but  a  young  person’s  17th Century  Grand  Tour,  in  which  they  would  experience  the  renaissance  period  first  hand. Some of the sights one might have seen on their Grand…

Take a walk around the Manchester of 2013 and behold a 21st Century city; skyscrapers and sleek, glass shop fronts galore. But look beyond the modern facade and you will find evidence of the origins of Manchester’s rich architectural history…the gems of Britain’s first industrial city. The skyline of Manchester, at the height of the…