The Extraordinary Rise and Inexplicable Decline of Lit & Phils
The Literary and Philosophical Society was once ubiquitous, allowing minds to meet and views to collide. Their disappearance has left more questions than answers.
Britain
The Dog Days of Medieval Summer
For those learned in medieval medicine and astronomy, the dog days of July heralded dangerous times.
Lessons from Attlee
A British general election rarely results in radical changes, no matter the colour of the rosettes. One exception was Labour’s landslide victory in 1945.
The Publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four
On 8 June 1949, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four was published. His final novel, its themes had been present throughout his literary career.
‘The Undesirables’ by Sarah Wise review
Sarah Wise’s The Undesirables: The Law that Locked Away a Generation lays bare the cruelty and injustice of the Mental Deficiency Act of 1913.
Jack the Ripper: Dark Tourism and the Gutter Press
Jack the Ripper was a media sensation. The press frenzy surrounding him made the sites of his murders tourist destinations, attracting thousands of visitors.
When the Swastikas Came to White Hart Lane
When the English and Nazi German football teams met for the first time on British soil in 1935, the game was not the headline.
An Exhibition on Rational Dress for Victorian Women
On 19 May 1883 Eliza King and her Rational Dress Association held an exhibition to champion comfortable clothing for Victorian women.
Catching Nessie on Film
The Loch Ness Monster’s first appearance on film captured both the hype and the scepticism surrounding cinema’s newest star.
‘The Specter of the Archive’ by Nicholas Popper review
The Specter of the Archive: Political Practice and the Information State in Early Modern Britain by Nicholas Popper explores the Elizabethan revolution in record keeping.