the Glorious Revolution

James Simpson’s provocative book draws primarily on literary evidence, with Milton as its presiding genius

The brutish origins of British liberalism

16 February 2019 9:00 am

If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, the one to heaven may be surfaced with bad ones.…

Ford Madox Brown celebrates 17th-century advances in science in his painting ‘William Crabtree watches the Transit of Venus in 1639’

A.C. Grayling reduces history to a game of quidditch

12 March 2016 9:00 am

The 17th century scores highly  — especially England’s part in it — in A.C. Grayling’s ‘points system’ of history. If only the study of the past were that simple, says Ruth Scurr