Illustration of a Medieval Scribe

Literature

French writer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette and husband Willy, photographed c1902. (Photo by Apic/Getty Images)

Who was the real Colette?

The National Portrait Gallery attributed this unfinished portrait to Jane Austen’s sister, Cassandra, and dated it to circa 1810. (Universal History Archive / Getty Images)

What did Jane Austen really look like?

Simon Sebag Montefiore on letters from history. (Photo by Dreamstime)

Letters that changed the world.

Oxtail stew. (© CICO Books 2017)

Top 5 Dickensian recipes.

Vera Brittain, who worked as a nurse during the First World War and went on to become one of the leading writers of the interwar years. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Love, loss and distorted memories.

The women behind Lord Byron.

Richard Burbage

Richard Burbage: the vanishing act of the star who outshone Shakespeare.

Shakespeare’s greatest actor.

Shakespeare’s best (or worst) villains.

Edwin the Scribe. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Unusual things found in medieval manuscripts.

American novelist John Updike

My history hero: John Updike (1932-2009).

Journey’s End: behind the scenes of the new First World War film.

Mary Shelley and her monster.

Fiona Sampson"Mary never shook off the consequences of eloping with Shelley".

Chetham library

History explorer: Public libraries.

A portrait of Charles Dickens. (Photo by Rischgitz/Getty Images)

My history hero: Charles Dickens.

Austen’s influences: Lucy Worsley on the author’s life and work.

The Knights of the Round (Miniature from La Quête du Saint Graal et la Mort d'Arthus), c1220. Found in the collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

King Arthur: the big questions.

Tom Holland in conversation with Pankaj Mishra about his book Age of Anger

Age of Anger: Pankaj Mishra in conversation with Tom Holland.

Shakespeare’s Globe. (Loop Images/UIG via Getty Images)

Touring London with Shakespeare, Dickens and Oscar Wilde: 7 must-see literary landmarks.

Sheet music.

History quiz – songs, space stations and capital cities.

Q&AMein Kampf: what happened to Hitler’s money after his death?.

A photograph of Queen Victoria c1887. (Alexander Bassano/Spencer Arnold/Getty Images)

General History

9 of history's best quotes

The Brontë family.

The Brontës at war: how Charlotte and Branwell brought Waterloo into their drawing room.

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton star in the 1967 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew'. One of the playwright's most notorious couples, Katherine and Petruchio are far from a harmonious love match. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

Shakespeare’s 7 most notorious couples

A portrait of the author Leo Tolstoy on his 80th birthday. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

A brief history of War and Peace.

Witness Walls in West Yorkshire

The LibraryHistory explorer: The Brontës.

In pictures: Alice in Wonderland

A portrait of the writer and antiquarian John Aubrey

John Aubrey: chronicler of the 17th century.

The golden age of murder: Agatha Christie and the Detection Club.