Marco Polo: The Traveller Who Saw Too Much to Be Believed
Marco Polo had a credibility problem that feels surprisingly modern. He returned to Venice with…
Nelson Before the Column: The Complicated Man Behind the Monument
Horatio Nelson has spent more than two centuries standing above Trafalgar Square, watching London traffic…
How Charles Dickens Invented Victorian Britain
Charles Dickens did not merely write about Victorian Britain. He helped later generations imagine it.…
Nefertiti: Egypt’s Most Famous Face and Greatest Mystery
Nefertiti has one of the most recognisable faces in history and one of the least…
Oliver Cromwell: Hero, Tyrant or Awkward Revolutionary?
Oliver Cromwell is one of those historical figures who refuses to sit neatly on the…
The Real Machiavelli Behind the Ruthless Reputation
Niccolò Machiavelli has suffered one of history’s strangest public relations disasters. Most people know his…
How Hannibal Barca Won the Battles but Lost the War
Hannibal Barca is one of those historical figures who sounds as if he escaped from…