Not Just the Tudors

Four years into Britain's experiment as a republic, Oliver Cromwell staged a coup, violently dissolving parliament. His “Bare Bones Parliament” would not last either and, in December 1653, a new kind...

The 1650s were the only years in history when Britain was a republic.  Charles I had been executed, the monarchy was abolished and the House of Lords dismissed.  But what came next? How could stabilit...

In the last year of Henry VIII's life, his sixth wife Queen Kateryn Parr was accused of heresy and it looked as if her life could be on the line. This dramatic moment is the focus of a novel by Elizab...

A feature of outbreaks of plague between the 14th and 18th centuries was the publication of books and pamphlets, known as ‘plague tracts’, that spread information and misinformation about the causes o...

Queen Elizabeth I’s travels round England - known as ‘progresses’ - were never a quick day-trip or city break. They involved scores of attendants, hundreds of carts of luggage, and lasted around 50 d...

In the autumn of 1621, hundreds of starlings were seen fighting in the sky above Cork. The following May, the city was ravaged by fire.  The pleated folds of skin around the neck of a baby born in 15...

Queen Consort of France and mother to three successive Kings, Catherine de’ Medici's legacy could have been one of intelligence, fortitude, artistic patronage and religious moderation. But instead, a...

In July 1596, Fynes Moryson - a Lincolnshire gentleman and travel writer - was struck down with grief when his younger brother died as they crossed the desert on their return from Jerusalem. Moryson d...

Fueled by ambition and the desire to extend their influence, the House of Medici saw the papacy not only as a religious post but a political one. Four of the Medici dynasty rose to become Pope in the...

We have long been taught that modern global history began when the 'Old World' encountered the 'New', when Christopher Columbus 'discovered' America in 1492. But, in a groundbreaking book, Dr. Carolin...