Georgian

Robert Burns. (Getty Images)

7 facts about Robert Burns, Scotland’s national bard

Men enjoying a drink and a chat in a coffee house, 1674. Coffee houses became known as ‘schools of the wise’, where people would gossip, argue and discuss the breaking news of the day. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A drink for the devil: 8 facts about the history of coffee

Colour portrait of Jane Austen (1775–1817) drawn by her sister Cassandra. Dated 1810. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

8 things you (probably) didn’t know about Jane Austen

A contemporary illustration of the Storming of the Bastille, 14 July 1789 – an event that helped create the idea of 'revolution' as we know it today. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Fighting for freedom: the storming of the Bastille and the French Revolution

From The Library

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10 things you might not know about Blenheim Palace – the ‘real Downton Abbey’

A portrait of Alexander Hamilton by John Trumbull, 1806. (Photo by IanDagnall Computing/Alamy Stock Photo)

7 things you (probably) didn’t know about Alexander Hamilton

Ross Poldark in London in the BBC's drama. The capital city was described in contemporary magazines and newspapers as the "vortex of dissipation", says Hannah Greig. (Image Credit: BBC/Mammoth Screen/Robert Viglasky)

From politics to pleasure gardens: the real history behind Poldark’s 18th-century London

The ruins of Dunluce Castle, which sit on the coastal cliffs of North Antrim in Northern Ireland. They are thought to have been the inspiration for CS Lewis’s castle Cair Paravel in ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ (1950–56). (Photo by Andrea Ricordi/Contributor/Getty Images)

9 of Britain’s best castles

Diana, Princess Of Wales, Prince William And Prince Harry visit Thorpe Park amusement park. (Photo by Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty Images)

How to raise a royal… with Tracy Borman

A depiction of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence, 4 July, 1776, from a painting by John Trumbull. The men standing are (l to r) John Adams, Roger Sherman Robert R. Livingston, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. (Image by Bettmann/Getty Images)

Why does the United States of America celebrate Independence Day on 4 July?

Early American Patriotic flag. (Visions of America/UIG via Getty images)

10 things you (probably) didn’t know about the American War of Independence

A woodcut print depicting the stocks, a form of Elizabethan punishment. Dated 16th century. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

“Damn your blood”: Swearing in early modern English

Chastity belt decorated with a flower design and a heart pierced with arrows. (SSPL/Getty Images)

13 weird historical facts

King William II is often overshadowed by his Norman father, William the Conqueror. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

7 forgotten monarchs