19th-century history

A meditation on exile and the meaning of home

14 May 2022 9:00 am

What does home mean? Where your dead are buried, as Zulus believe? Or where you left your heart, as a…

Emperor for three years: the doomed reign of Maximilian I of Mexico

15 January 2022 9:00 am

On 8 April 1864 an Austrian archduke with a penchant for daydreaming agreed to be emperor of Mexico. As Edward…

The Greeks’ bitter fight for freedom

15 January 2022 9:00 am

Last year was the 200th anniversary of the outbreak of the war of Greek independence in March 1821. It has…

How 19th-century gold rushes led to a distrust of China

2 October 2021 9:00 am

For a brief moment three summers ago it seemed that the clear Idaho air wafting through the Sun Valley Literary…

Capital entertainment: how the West End became the playground of London

12 September 2020 9:00 am

The West End was always something a little apart. Some years ago, I used to go drinking with a man…