Victorian

Bank Holidays - And Much Else

Eynon Smart describes how, during the second half of the nineteenth century, few politicians had a wider range of personal accomplishments than John Lubbock, the author of the Bank Holidays Bill.

An Impression of Tennyson

Poet Laureate from 1850, writes Joanna Richardson, Tennyson became an acknowledged interpreter of Victorian morals and politics.

The Wesley Naturalist

Victorian Methodists, writes Stuart Andrews, carried on the keen interest in scientific subjects that had once been shown by John Wesley.

Winterhalter: Portrait of an Artist

Franz Xaver Winterhalter's romantic representations of royal and noble personages, writes Joanna Richardson, have an unquestionable charm for those who live in a more pedestrian age.

Haldane and Asquith

William Verity describes how Haldane and Asquith were close political friends and colleagues from 1882 until Haldane was abruptly dropped from office in 1915.

The Anti-Corn Law League

If there are turning points in history, the Repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846, and the adoption of Free Trade, represented such a moment in Britain. By peaceful means, writes W.H. Chaloner, the new industrial forces in the nation had triumphed over the old landed interests.

The Birth of the Panama Canal, 1869—1914

Panama, and its American-controlled Canal Zone, have lately been the scene of a revolutionary flutter. W.H. Chaloner asks, what is the history of the building of the Canal, and of the United States connexion with it?

Garibaldi in England, 1864

The Italian patriot’s visit to England was extraordinarily successful. But Queen Victoria deplored the scenes it provoked; and Karl Marx described them as “a miserable spectacle of imbecility”.