Bedlam, or Bethlehem Hospital, was a place of horror both for the mentally ill people incarcerated there and in the minds of others, not just in London. By the 17th century, visitors were paying to view the 'lunaticks' in Bedlam, plays were being written about it, and fear of imprisonment there was … Continue Reading
Features
Argentina: football and history
The unpopularity of Argentina goes back much further than the reaction to its team's behaviour during the 2026 World Cup. It's rooted in the … Continue Reading
The challenges of researching working class lives
If you want to write fiction or non-fiction based around the court of Henry VIII or of Queen Victoria, you’ll have plenty of sources to draw on. … Continue Reading
How I wrote a historical heist
How do you write a historical heist? The ingredients, TL Mogford decided, were the same in all periods: target, tech and team. But it was while … Continue Reading
Was CS Lewis a misogynist?
Was CS Lewis a misogynist? Many people think he was, often based on what's called the 'Susan problem' in The Last Battle. But while researching … Continue Reading
Interviews
Historia interview: Claire Hobson
On 29 May, Oak Apple Day, it'll be 396 years from Charles II's birth in 1630 and 366 since his restoration. To mark the occasion, Historia spoke to Claire Hobson, whose biography charts those 30 turbulent years that … Continue Reading
Historia interview: Carolyn O’Brien
Carolyn O’Brien’s new novel Rose & Renzo is set in 1930s Manchester and is deeply entwined with the radical politics of the time, the backdrop to a passionate coming-of-age story. Carolyn O’Brien talks to fellow … Continue Reading
Reviews
Review: Wuthering Heights – the film – and Catherine by Essie Fox
February, 2026 has given us the full Bronte with two retellings of Wuthering Heights. Kate Griffin, the author of several Gothic novels and lover of films set in the Victorian era, is the ideal person to review both … Continue Reading
Review: Samurai at the British Museum
Lesley Downer, author of The Shortest History of Japan, visits the Samurai exhibition at the British Museum and discovers that it's "an exhibition of treasures" which show that the samurai were patrons of the arts … Continue Reading