Victorian

Curling stones during a match at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah

General History

A brief history of curling – from medieval Scotland to the Winter Olympics

Language of flowers postcard

Q&A What was floriography?

A portrait of the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer (c1340-1400), who modern literary scholars credit for turning Valentine into the patron of love. Chaucer was a major influencer in his day – after him, everyone began calling their beloved “Valentine” and writing love poems on 14 February, says Lisa Bitel. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Who was Saint Valentine? A history of the figure’s origins

GettyImages-187574416-2-2edce12

A history of Valentine’s Day celebrations – from fertility festivals to the first cards

Pod Edward Shawcross WL

Mexico’s ill-fated Austrian emperor

A lobbycard for the 1923 film Is Conan Doyle Right? (Photo by LMPC via Getty Images)

The supernatural interests of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Emily Soldene, actress, writer and rebel

Emily Soldene: actress, writer, rebel

A picture of Charles Darwin in his later years

Q&A Did Charles Darwin coin the phrase ‘survival of the fittest’?

Pod Duncan Stone WL

Elitism in cricket: a history

Cartoon from American satirical magazine Puck, c1885, showing American millionaires playing Monopoly with the country's assets

Who were the tycoons of the Gilded Age? Meet the ruthless ‘robber barons’ who made millions

Louisa Jacobson as Marian Brook & Denée Benton as Peggy Scott in The Gilded Age. (Image by Alison Cohen Rosa © 2021 Heyday Productions, LLC and Universal Television LLC)

The Gilded Age preview: “Entry into a world that really hasn’t been covered on television before”

Pod Shaun Wallace WL

Escaping slavery in the American South

Pod Rory Cormac WL

Queen Victoria’s spy network

Queen Victoria in 1861

Queen of spies? Inside Queen Victoria’s secret intelligence network

(Illustration by Glen McBeth for BBC History Magazine)

Q&A What is the origin and meaning of the pirate expression ‘shiver me timbers’?