Whether you call it Christmas, Winterval or just ‘the holidays’, the period between late December and early January is cocoon time: a cessation of work and routine activities. It begins with tradition

I enjoyed reading the interesting article by Caitlin Ellis on the rivals for the throne in 1066 (October). In particular, it was fascinating to read about Edgar Ætheling’s claim, which was surely the

The summer of 1791 was an exceptionally busy period, even by Mozart’s habitually hardworking standards. He was, to begin with, composing a new opera, Die Zauberflöte (‘The Magic Flute’). Then, in June

“One might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb,” goes the old proverb. The meaning is simple: if you are going to be punished for a small crime, you may as well commit the bigger one. In the early

Listen TO ONE thing!

A quest to find Horace Walpole’s missing Ottoman dagger unveiled a story of 16th-century diplomacy, Victorian theatre and a notorious heist