Culture

Portrait of Carlo Broschi (stage name Farinelli), the most famous opera singer of the 18th century. (Photo By DEA/A. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini/Getty Images)

Castrated Georgian opera stars: the stars of the 18th century

French actor Jean-Louis Trintignant holding the skull of Yorik

The wisdom of Shakespeare: 5 famous quotes explained

Festival of Britain official programme. The event was held in 1951 on London's South Bank

The 1951 Festival of Britain: banishing the gloom of postwar Britain

Machiavelli-3-79fe9f6

How Machiavellian was Machiavelli?

A portrait of William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare: a guide to the life of England’s greatest playwright

Peter O’Toole (top) plays Henry II alongside Richard Burton

“Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?” The truth behind Henry II’s notorious lament

Virginia Woolf, writer and critic. (Image by Getty Images)

Virginia Woolf: a brief guide to the writer’s life

Madame Tussaud's exhibition at Baker Street, London. But who was her first waxwork? (Photo by Bettmann, via Getty Images)

Q&A Who was Madame Tussaud’s first waxwork?

St David painting in stained glass window, Ceredigion, UK. Exact date unknown. (Photo by David Angel/Alamy Stock Photo)

16 things you (probably) didn’t know about St David’s Day traditions

Mark Glancy reveals how Cary Grant made the journey from working-class Bristol lad to the most celebrated actor in Hollywood. (Image by Getty Images)

Cary Grant: from humble beginnings to Hollywood icon

Actor Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's Monster in James Whale’s classic 1931 film. (Bettmann/Getty Images)

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: the birth of a gothic monster

The inner courtyard of the old pottery factory at Gladstone Pottery Museum, with its five towering bottle ovens. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

History explorer The Gladstone Pottery Museum

An Australian Sea Shanty band, c1988

A brief history of sea shanties

David Hepworth tells the story of the British rock bands. (Image by Getty Images)

When British pop invaded America

The city Bhaktapur looming over the Kathmandu valley

The hippy trail: a pan-Asian journey through history