Letters from the front line

The Venerable Bede was a monk who lived in Northumbria 1300 years ago, but his influence reached far beyond the confines of his monastic home. In fact, he is remembered today as the 'Father of English...

5 Nov 202436min

How might cryptic messages written from within a political prison bring us closer to understanding a captive queen? Historian Jade Scott has studied the letters Mary, Queen of Scots wrote in captivity...

4 Nov 202436min

How did British civilians respond when they found themselves under aerial bombardment during the Second World War? Was normal life put on hold during air raids? And was 'Blitz Spirit' a real thing? Sp...

3 Nov 202445min

What drove a group of plotters to attempt to blow up the king on 5 November 1605? To what extent did the conspiracy sour relations between Protestants and Catholics? And why do we continue to be so fa...

2 Nov 202437min

First published in 2011, Simon Sebag Montefiore's book Jerusalem: The Biography charts life in the city across the course of centuries. Now he's returned with an updated version, which extends the sto...

1 Nov 202443min

Henry Bolingbroke has gone down in history as the usurper that stole the English crown from the tyrant Richard II – and was later plagued by rebellion and ill health. But what else do we know about th...

31 Okt 202451min

Satanic sabbaths, magic potions and demonic toads – in the early 17th century, the Basque Country was convulsed by strange accusations of supernatural activities. A new book by Jan Machielsen explores...

30 Okt 202432min

From her groundbreaking work in nursing and public health reform to her battles against societal expectations and love of animals, Melissa Pritchard explores the life and legacy of English nurse and s...

29 Okt 202439min