When sedition was rife in 18th-century London
Researching the seditious literature of earlier periods is seldom suspenseful, pulse-quickening work. For every thrill of archival discovery, there are…
The real villain of the House of York was Richard III’s elder brother
Trying to describe the outcome of the Wars of the Roses — the fall of the House of York —…
Diarmaid MacCulloch delves deep into the soul of Thomas Cromwell – administrator, henchman and evangelical
The final moments of Hilary Mantel’s magnificent Wolf Hall see its central protagonist, Thomas Cromwell, trying to banish ghosts. Assailed…
Milton’s blinding reading list
In December 1996 Martin Amis told listeners of the BBC’s Desert Island Discs what would relieve his solitude were he…
Restoration man
Given that he wrote and published some of the most stunningly handsome books of the 17th century, John Ogilby has…
One scorching summer long ago
It was the brightest of futures; it was the End of Days. Three hundred and fifty years before Brexit, England…
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Cartoons
‘I’ve been made Impermanent Secretary.’
‘We’re here about the superforecaster job.’
‘I can’t get on the housing ladder.’
Narcissus feels outnumbered
‘He used to be just a manspreader.’
‘Oh no! What have I tweeted..?’
‘Yes, you could say we’re self-isolating.’
‘And let’s all try to be a little bit kinder.’
‘Poor Rishi Sunak — he has four houses to worry about.’