This year I’m off to Salute to the ’40’s, a vintage festival at The Historic Dockyard Chatham. As dressing up in the style of the era is encouraged I decided to do a little research into 1940s fashion to give me some inspiration for the big weekend (pictures will follow!). So, what exactly did women…
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The Beautiful and Intelligent Božena Němcová: one of the great Czech writers of the nineteenth century
There was once a young girl who lived with her mother, a Viennese maid, and her father, a coachman, in a servants’ cottage of a castle in northeastern Bohemia. She was beautiful, with raven-black hair and soft, pale skin, and this set her apart from her brothers and sisters. Although she was the apple of…
Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn By Robin Maxwell
A young woman with red hair rides full tilt on a horse in the blazing sunshine. Where she is found, another is sure to be nearby. Elizabeth I is the subject of this historical novel in which a mysterious old women hands over a moth eaten diary to the Queen of England. It’s supposedly written…
End of the Reign in Spain
The abdication of King Juan Carlos last month is the seventh time that the Spanish throne has been voluntarily vacated. While Britain’s own Edward VIII secured everlasting infamy by vacating his throne, it seems that abdication comes more easily to the monarchs in Madrid. Here’s a look at some of Juan Carlos’s abdicating predecessors… Charles V…
The Unusual History of Unusual Names
Every so often, a debate comes up in the newspapers about the names children today are given. This is generally following the release the ‘top baby names’ list for the past year alongside a ‘most unusual names’ list. These names tend to follow celebrity trends; although shortly after the last Lord of the Rings film…
5 Would-Be Queens of England
English history is littered with consorts of our monarchs. The vast majority were women, with the occasional man included where the monarch is female. But there were a few women who, were it not for circumstance, would also be included in the Consorts list. Early 14th-century depiction of Henry I mourning the death of his…
Frederick Douglass’s Journey in Britain: 1845-7
Most people in the United States are aware of abolitionist and civil rights activist Frederick Douglass, but few have heard of him in Britain. This demands redress, as Douglass, perhaps the most famous black social reformer of the nineteenth century, travelled to Britain in 1845. Douglass’ experience in Britain is the subject of my PhD,…
Marilyn: The Last Strange Days
“I knew I belonged to the public and to the world, not because I was talented or even beautiful but because I had never belonged to anything or anyone else.” This is a sad, but most certainly true, assertion from a woman who continues to be one of the most iconic women of our time….
QUIZ: Which Greek God are you?
After the recent success of our fabulous ‘Roman Goddess’ and ‘Tudor Wives’ Quizzes, we didn’t want our male readership to feel left out! So here is a quiz especially for all the men in our lives. Fellas, this one is for you… First things first… have you ever thought of yourself as a bit of…
#RoyalBaby Prediction
Kate and Wills had a baby, and the country is going bananas. We all know very little, but what we do know is that it’s a boy. So the next big question is…what are they going to call the future King of England? It isn’t likely the Royal Family are going to break the mould…