historical

September’s book of the month, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, is an almost miraculous novel. It feels diminutive to even call it one. It's a book that bursts with stories to tell, in fact it has sprung several dozen leaks; in the form of footnotes (often fully cited) that...

Whether it’s the raunchy kilts of Outlander or the leather armour in The Musketeers, there is always some debate about the accuracy of period costume. This is sometimes down to a lack of information about certain periods, but is also often due to the negligence of designers. There has...

Amongst the most common Halloween costume characters, zombies, vampires, ghosts… there is one that remains triumphant: the witch. But where does this fascination with witchcraft come from? Made punishable by death in the UK in 1542 under the reign of King Henry VIII, witchcraft was a crime leading to...

“Where are you from?” “Cambridge” I lie, when anyone from outside of East Anglia asks me. Technically, I grew up in a tiny village north of the city, but Cambridge is still ‘home’. Cambridge is a little urban hotspot for creativity, science, culture and history in the East Anglian countryside...