William Shakespeare
To mark the 400th anniversary of the publication of the First Folio compiling Shakespeare’s dramas, we spoke to eight experts about what his plays reveal about themes including love, death, power and…
The witch hunts that swept across Europe between 1450 and 1750 are one of the most controversial and terrifying phenomena in history, resulting in the trial of around 100,000 people (most of them…
Shakespeare: Past Master 8. The Tempest . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.
With its spirits and jesters, wizards and goddesses, the playwright’s late-era romance may seem a frothy concoction – yet it also tells us much about gender dynamics in the 17th century
Shakespeare: Past Master 7. The Merchant of Venice . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.
Transporting audiences to a ruthless world of moneylending and murderous revenge, the drama features characters now widely regarded as offensively stereotypical – but also offers insights into how…
Rory Muir takes us on a journey through Regency marriage, from engagements and elopements to going on honeymoon with your mother-in-law
Dr Lizzie Rogers and Charlotte Hodgman explore some of the key learnings from the recent HistoryExtra Academy Regency course
Jane Austen’s lifetime coincided with near-constant conflict and bloodshed on both sides of the Atlantic
Beneath the genteel surface of decorous society, unrest simmered in the world – and works – of Jane Austen
As the Victorian age neared its end, a vibrant cultural movement emerged that flipped conventional notions of femininity and masculinity on their head. Jad Adams reveals how a new generation…
Following the verdict in the ‘Wagatha Christie’ libel trial in the UK’s High Court, historian Sean Lang explains how the law of libel and defamation has developed in England and looks at nine…
It was a bitter conclusion to a life that had so often featured glittering success. Emma Slattery Williams explores the decline of celebrated Irish writer Oscar Wilde
The Anglo-Irish Victorian playwright Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was the toast of 1890s London, famous for his society plays and flamboyant wit, as well as his support of aestheticism. He later became…
Book recommendations
Charles Dickens
Great poets from history
Poetry and protest WW1 poet Siegfried Sassoon
He is remembered as one of the greatest poets of his generation. But what drove Siegfried Sassoon to decry the horrors of World War I so publicly, even when he risked facing the wrath of his own side?
WW1 poets 5 famous figures you should know about
From scathing verses on the horrors of life in the trenches to laments on the tragedy of a lost generation, the First World War inspired some of British poetry's most poignant and affecting work.…
Geoffrey Chaucer is often hailed as the ‘father of English literature’. Yet, argues Marion Turner, who has written an acclaimed biography of the poet, this epithet fails to capture the radical nature…
The Brontës
Emily Brontë is perhaps best known for her bestselling novel Wuthering Heights and for being the sister of the famous Charlotte, Anne and (Patrick) Branwell Brontë. But how much do you know…
Against a backdrop of incredible personal tragedy, three modest, Victorian women from Yorkshire would forever change the face of English literature. Mel Sherwood reveals the unfortunate and unlikely…
One of the most celebrated literary families of the 19th century, the Brontës were part of a post-war generation, with Charlotte Brontë, the eldest child, born in 1816, a year after the decisive…
"She didn't twiddle her thumbs. She got on with things – and she paved the way for other female writers. Her novels have a feminist twist, and she had a strong sense that life wasn't fair for women":…
LITERATURE | HistoryExtra podcast episodes
A brief history of language and literature
Children's literature
He is one of Britain's most beloved writers, the creator of more than 20 children's books including Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG. But how much do…
To mark the 20-year anniversary of the release of the film Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Dr Hetta Howes investigates the real history that inspired JK Rowling’s magical world…
As a new exhibition at the V&A Museum in London celebrates the life and inspirations of the beloved children’s author, Sarah Gristwood considers how the much-forgotten elements of Beatrix’s Potter’s…
What are some of the best historical fiction books for children? The team behind BBC History Magazine, BBC History Revealed and HistoryExtra reveal some of their top…
