Britain

The recent introduction of police commissioners to England and Wales is supposed to bring the force closer to the people. But, asks Clive Emsley, where is the evidence for that?

Syrie Maugham was a businesswoman and beauty whose interior designs became a sensation on both sides of the Atlantic. However her relationships with a series of prominent men left her personal life in tatters. Frances Larson tells her story.

Nigel Watson celebrates 80 years of the British Interplanetary Society.

D.H. Pennington on the man chiefly responsible for passing the Reform Act.

Christopher Sykes on an influential, eventful - though entirely fictional - parliamentary career.

Charles Dimont traces the origin and history of ‘God Save the King’ (or ‘God Save the Queen’), the British national anthem.

Long excluded from public business, King Edward showed, when he came to the throne, a remarkable grasp of foreign affairs. He was, as A.P. Ryan says, “a good European and a lover of peace.”

The English royal line has included several notable collectors of art, as Doreen Agnew here documents.

M.G. Brock surveys the political landscape in Britain in 1837.

J.A.R. Pimlott studies the development of the Christmas Spirit—from Pagan Saturnalia to Victorian family party