It is unsurprising that there seems to be a new appetite for the Stuart period, given the seventeenth century brought us some of the best and most enduring drama ever written, a regicide, a civil war, a republic, a restoration and, in the aftermath of all this, one of the most dramatically eventful and devastating […]
The Unseeing by Anna Mazzola
Every now and then a debut novel comes along that stands out from the crowd. The Unseeing by Anna Mazzola is one. Sarah Gale is a seamstress, prostitute and single mother, incarcerated in Newgate Prison, sentenced to hang for her role in the murder of Hannah Brown. Young, ambitious lawyer, Edmund Fleetwood, is appointed to […]
Upstart Crow: The New Blackadder?
Another one of those compelling BBC historical drama series has just finished. But don’t worry, a new series has already been commissioned along with a Christmas special. It may seem strange to mention Ben Elton’s latest comedy about William Shakespeare’s early career in the same genre as War and Peace and Wolf Hall. But historical […]
Versailles: Gripping Drama or a Hall of Mirrors?
Versailles (BBC2, 1 June) follows, over 10 weeks, the transformation of Louis XIV (George Blagden) from weak king in a troubled realm to one of history’s top despots and seventeenth-century style icon. The first episode sees Louis making the key decision to move France’s entire machinery of the government to his father’s old hunting lodge […]
The Girl in the Glass Tower by Elizabeth Fremantle
The Girl in the Glass Tower is the fourth novel from acclaimed historical fiction author Elizabeth Fremantle and continues her exploration of, in her words, ‘the invisibility of early modern women’s lives’ with perhaps her most challenging character. Lady Arbella Stuart was the great-granddaughter of Henry VIII’s sister Margaret Tudor and niece to Mary Queen […]
A Brief History of Underwear
Imogen Robertson reviews Undressed, the latest hot ticket at the V&A. When I was a child, my mother discovered that no matter the size of strop I’d managed to get myself into, if she said the word ‘knickers’ enough in a very serious voice, I’d crack and start giggling. I have a nasty feeling it would […]
Shakespeare In Ten Acts
Unless you’ve been walking around with your head in a bag you’ll know that 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death. It’s hardly surprising then that, whether you’re a dedicated Bard-o-holic or just someone with a casual interest, there’s a plethora of exhibitions on offer to you this year that provide plenty of […]
Farinelli and the King, Duke of York Theatre
It’s fair to say that a year ago a lot of people had not heard of Mark Rylance. He is one of our greatest actors and yet, until recently, he’s flown under the radar, largely keeping himself to one of the less commercial corners of British culture – the floorboards of ‘serious’ theatre. This all […]