Feature

Was Nero the Antichrist? The bestial image of the Roman emperor as the enemy of Christians persists, but the truth is more complex.

A terrorist attack on Wall Street a century ago aroused suspicion of anarchists, socialists and foreigners, as America saw danger around every corner.

Perfumes and sweet scents affect our sense of smell, but their true realm is that of the imagination.

The Irish Rebellion of 1641 offered an opportunity for the ambitions of a well-connected group of Puritan politicians and businessmen. The result was civil war.

The conflict that broke out between France and an ambitious new German state 150 years ago can lay claim to be the first modern war.

The French tradition of the royal mistress gave new opportunities for women at the court of Charles II.

Terra nullius has long been at the heart of why the British did not treat with Aboriginal people following James Cook’s arrival in Australia. But should it be?

Brutality, corruption and abuses of power in the Metropolitan Police at the turn of the 20th century led to an inquiry – but no reform.

A British public relations company in cahoots with sympathetic MPs was unable to whitewash the military regime that seized power in Greece in 1967.