Political

Britain's political elite are often criticised for having few achievements away  from Whitehall. Richard Foreman contrasts their inexperience with the 19th-century statesman Lord Rosebery.

Russ Foster introduces one of Britain's least understood premiers.

Robert Pearce considers why Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979.

The 19th-century view from Albion of the shortcomings of the US Constitution was remarkably astute, says Frank Prochaska.

For centuries King John has been regarded as the embodiment of an evil ruler. But, says Graham E. Seel, this image is largely the creation of monastic chroniclers with an axe to grind. A close examination of contemporary records reveals a more nuanced character.

Otto I was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope John XII on February 2nd 962.

After decades of advance, democracy in Europe has begun to look curiously vulnerable.

Frederick the Great, the man who made Prussia a leading European power, was born on January 24th, 1712.

The poets Gerard Manley Hopkins and Coventry Patmore both subscribed to a Tory world view, fiercely opposing the reforms of Prime Minister Gladstone. But their correspondence reveals two very different personalities, says Gerald Roberts.

Paul Lay pays tribute to the playwright, dissident and former Czech president, who has died aged 75.