“come and assist your loving mother. i am in prison for debt” “dear mother, so am i”

JOHN DOWLAND IS MY NAME: musician, composer, greatest lute player of my age in Europe, some say, when in England Elizabeth and James were on the throne. I died in 1626 when I was 63 and was buried on

Charles Dickens Pictures from Italy 384pp. Oxford University Press. £176 (US $230). In November 1843, burnt out and living beyond his means, Charles Dickens resolved on a year-long sabbatical in Europ

A Queer Inheritance: Alternative Histories in the National ...

In my current project, I don’t quite know what I’m doing, though I’m hoping to strike lucky. As with metal detectorists and those who browse the shelves of charity shops for Ming vases, my hope is alw

In the early 1940s, the Royal Mint replaced the familiar image of a portcullis on the threepenny coin with a thrift plant. This was part of the government’s campaign reminding the public of the need f

Goldbugs are not ideal dinner guests. They are rarely in a particularly cheery mood: one pro-gold article I recall from the optimistic 2000s was entitled We’re freaking doomed, dude. That conjures up