Culture

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie in profile: facts about her life

Biographer Ron Chernow discusses the extraordinary life of the American Founding Father who inspired a hit musical. (Image by Getty Images)

Editor’s pick: Ron Chernow on Alexander Hamilton

Three medieval carol singers, image dated 1911. (Photo by Chronicle/Alamy Stock Photo)

Christmas carols: the history behind 9 festive favourites

Shocked and despondent Lennon fans gather in New York’s Central Park to mourn his death (Photo by Luiz Alberto/Keystone/Getty Images)

The death of John Lennon: what happened?

Alfred Nobel (Bettmann/Getty Images)

The history of the Nobel Prizes

Even the ancient Egyptian played board games – this fresco from the tomb of Nefertari shows the queen playing Senet

8 of the best historical board games for history lovers

Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth II) and Princess Margaret as Prince Charming and Cinderella in a 1941 pantomime

Q&A What are the origins of the Christmas pantomime?

Vintners in an ale house, 1642. From a broadsheet titled ‘Health to All’, artist unknown. (Photo by Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Did Oliver Cromwell ban Christmas? The Puritan assault on Christmas during the 1640s and 1650s

British mystery writer Agatha Christie, c1926. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The mysterious disappearance of Agatha Christie

Chess players in the 14th century

General ancient history

Ancient board games: which ones did people play for fun in the past?

An illustration of a group of supposed witches

A very brief history of witches by Suzannah Lipscomb

Priest offering the heart taken from a living human victim to the Aztec sun god and god of war, Huitzilopochtli. Print of facsimile from Aztec Codex, published 1904. Human Sacrifice (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Q&A: Why and how did the Aztecs practise human sacrifice?

Simon Schama photographed in Hauteville House, Guernsey (Photo by Oxford Films, Photographer Eddie Knox)

Simon Schama on the Romantics

Illustration for BBC History Magazine.

How potatoes conquered the world

Afua Hirsch in Kenya. (Photo by Clear Story/BBC)

Afua Hirsch: “The prejudice still surrounding Africa is absolutely rooted in a racist past”