Cultural

Mark Juddery looks at the historical backdrop to the much-loved 1950s Hollywood musical, Singin’ in the Rain in which Hollywood tells its own story of the arrival of sound to the big screen.

The circus act was first performed on 12 November 1859.

The creator of the world's most widely spoken constructed language was born on December 15th, 1859.

The diarist began his work on January 1st 1660.

Opera has flourished in the United States. But how did this supposedly ‘elite’ art form become so deep-rooted in a nation devoted to popular culture and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal? Daniel Snowman explains.

Britain has had a long and sometimes problematic relationship with alcohol. James Nicholls looks back over five centuries to examine the many, often unsuccessful, attempts to reform the nation’s drinking habits.

John Spiller surveys race relations in the United States during Reconstruction and constructs a balance sheet.

Emily Parton asks a key question about Italian unification, in the winning entry of History Review magazine's 2009 Julia Wood Award.

Simon Lemieux examines examples of German Protestant propaganda.

Alexandria’s reputation as the intellectual powerhouse of the Classical world, fusing Greek, Egyptian and Roman culture, lives on, writes Paul Cartledge.