General Modern

Napoleon Bonaparte of France. (Hulton Fine Art Collection via Getty Images)

Bad manners and a game of thrones: inside the court of Napoleon Bonaparte

British prime minister Tony Blair (right), US Senator George Mitchell (centre) and Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern smiling on 10 April 1998 after signing the Good Friday Agreement – an historic agreement for peace in Northern Ireland. (Photo by Dan Chung/AFP/Getty Images)

A brief history of the Good Friday Agreement

Contrasting biographies of iconic leader Winston Churchill show how perceptions of historical figures change with the passing of time, says David Cannadine. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Second World War

Why Churchill’s reputation is still on the line

From The Library

Designer duo, husband and wife Robin and Lucienne Day, 1955. The pair “were perhaps the greatest British man and wife design team there has ever been”, says Wayne Hemingway. (Photo by Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy Stock Photo)

My history hero: Robin Day (1915–2010) and Lucienne Day (1917–2010)

From The Library

A 15th-century map of the world illustrating a Latin edition of Ptolemy's the 'Geography'. (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

General prehistory

12 giant leaps for mankind – from carnivorism to Magna Carta

A French print by the Thierry bothers depicting the appearance of the landscape and inhabitants of the Moon

How to carry off a great hoax

Coca cola bottles from the 1990s

From Velcro to Viagra: 10 products that were invented by accident

WM Woodfull of Australia ducks to avoid a rising ball from Harold Larwood of England during the Fourth Test match at Brisbane on the infamous 'Bodyline' Tour of Australia. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

4 historical cricketing curiosities

Sarah Dunant. (Alamy)

The history of today

Rosa Parks rides an integrated bus

From Rosa Parks to Martin Luther King: the boycott that inspired the dream

Bikes on a canal in Amsterdam and the Basilica of Saint Nicholas church in the background. (Photo by maydays via Getty Images)

My favourite place: Amsterdam, Netherlands

From The Library

John Julius Norwich pictured at the Oxford Literary Festival in 2014. (Photo by David Levenson/Getty Images)

Books interview with John Julius Norwich: “Most British people know practically nothing about French history”

From The Library

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

The dark side of Alexander Hamilton

The Sultanahmet district in Istanbul, Turkey, which is classified as World Heritage by UNESCO. (Photo by DOZIER Marc via Getty Images)

General ancient history

A new civilisation rises

From The Library