Britain

A military dental surgery, pen drawing by H. Bury, early 20th century. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain.

Brushing for Britain

The First World War revealed the bad state of Britain’s teeth. Intervention was required to keep the nation biting fit.

Artisans’ Dwellings, Petticoat Square, London, by William Haywood, 19th century. Bridgeman Images.

Solving the Victorian Housing Crisis

The acute housing crisis of mid-Victorian Britain generated stormy opinions about the nature of state intervention and the need for ‘wholesome despotism’.

Frontispiece from Entretiens sur la pluralité des mondes, Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle, 1686. New York Public Library. Public Domain.

Aliens and the Enlightenment

In the 18th century the existence of extraterrestrial life went from debatable hypothesis to fundamental tenet of Enlightenment thought.

‘Oliver Cromwell of Ely Visits Mr. John Milton’, by David Dalhoff Neal, 1883. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Public Domain.

On the Spot: Alice Hunt

‘What is the most common misconception about my field? That the republic was an absolute failure and the Restoration inevitable.’

Miniature of William III, attributed to Benjamin Arlaud, 1689- 1719. Rijksmuseum. Public Domain.

Scandals of the Glorious Revolution

Rumours about the sexual proclivities of King William III began to spread as soon as he took the English throne. What went on behind the closed doors of the royal court had implications for the nation.