Georgian

Perkin Warbeck, an imposter and pretender to the English throne, being humiliated in the stocks before his execution in 1499. Warbeck was used by Henry VII’s Yorkist enemies in an unsuccessful plot to threaten the new Tudor dynasty. (Getty Images)

Imposters in history: 16 famous con-artists and pretenders

Falkner Street, Liverpool in the 1960s. A house on this road was the star of a 2018 BBC series. (Image by Nick Hedges)

David Olusoga on house histories: “Our homes are often the sites of great dramas and tragedies”

A c1830 portrait of the scandalous but sublimely talented Lorenzo da Ponte. (Photo by Alamy)

My history hero: Katie Derham chooses Lorenzo Da Ponte

The leader of the Luddites, 1812. Found in the collection of British Museum. Anonymous artist. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

5 of the worst years in British history

A 15th-century detail from the Fountain of Youth, Piedmont, Italy. (Image by De Agostini/Getty Images)

Sexing up history: how to study and tell the history of sex

"For those of noble birth who were condemned to die, execution by beheading (which was considered the least brutal method of execution) was used until the 18th century," says criminologist and historian Lizzie Seal. This illustration depicts the execution of Charles I in January 1649. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A brief history of capital punishment in Britain

The marriage of Napoleon Bonaparte to Habsburg Archduchess Marie-Louise. (Photo by API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

Napoleon’s other wife: who was Habsburg Archduchess Marie-Louise?

Charles I's great weakness was that he made a strict distinction between his role as king, in which he could not compromise, and his personal role, which was entirely pleasant and courteous, says Sean Lang. (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images)

8 of the nicest kings in history

Not doughnuts, not profiteroles but semlor - creamy treats to beat pancakes. (Credit: Sam Nott)

Historical recipe Semla buns

2 h Makes 15-20

Gin Lane, a print issued in 1751 by painter and printmaker William Hogarth. It depicts the perceived evils of the consumption of gin. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

The 18th-century craze for gin

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

Napoleon Bonaparte: facts about his life, death and career

The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Illustration by Kate Greenaway, 1888. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

In pictures: fairytales through history

George Washington

American presidents: 9 things you (probably) didn’t know

A man helps his partner to dress by lacing her corset. (Photo by Frank Martin)

Love in Georgian times