France

French writer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette and husband Willy, photographed c1902. (Photo by Apic/Getty Images)

Who was the real Colette?

The maquis du Vercors were a rural group of French resistance fighters who converged on the Vercors plateau in south-east France. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

Second World War

The cruel victory: Paddy Ashdown on the French resistance during the Second World War

15th century French illuminated manuscript: The flight into Egypt. (Photo by Getty Images)

Wonders of the Middle Ages

Adam Zamoyski offers his views on the iconic French leader, Napoleon. (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images)

Napoleon: the insecure emperor

Napoleon Bonaparte, published in London, 1909. (The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Napoleon Bonaparte: facts about his life, death and career

James I of Aragon, depicted in a 15th-century portrait. A king dubbed 'the Conqueror' invested enormous energy in projecting an image of power and authority. But behind the facade lay an insecure ruler who feared failure. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

James I of Aragon: inside the mind of a medieval king

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The attack on the Malakof – print shows the French assault on the Malakof, the main Russian fortification before Sevastopol. (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington DC)

Your 60-second guide to the Crimean War

A Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP) is approaching Omaha Beach, Normandy, France, 6th June 1944. (Photo by Galerie Bilderwelt/Getty Images)

Second World War

Tales from D-Day

A portrait of Marie Antoinette dated 1783 and painted by Vigée-Le Brun. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

In profile: the life and death of Marie Antoinette

A scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting a naked man with an erection reaching out towards a naked woman, who is covering both her face and her pudenda with her hands. (© Bayeux Museum)

The Bayeux Tapestry with knobs on: what do the tapestry’s 93 penises tell us?

Marie Curie in her laboratory. (Photo by Time Life Pictures/Mansell/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

First World War

Marie Curie (1867–1934): her life, achievements and legacy

Adam Zamoyski, photographed in London. "We're brought up on a whole ant-heap of myths about Napoleon. The apocryphal stories that swirl around him are legion," he says. (Photography by Frank Monks for BBC History Magazine)

Books interview with Adam Zamoyski: “Napoleon was motivated by profound insecurity”

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Portrait of Marie Antoinette in deep mourning, while in prison. (Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images)

The final days of Marie Antoinette

The Ghent Altarpiece. (Image by Getty Images)

Second World War

Who were the real monuments men of the Second World War?

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