Sex and love

A set of Tudor faces laid out on playing cards

Why the Tudors fell for courtly love

A portrait of Lady Emma Hamilton

Nelson’s sensational mistress: how Emma Hamilton took Europe by storm

An architectural grotesque of a woman displaying her vulva

How naughty was the past? The hidden depths of the medieval church

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, and Marguerite Kaye join us to discuss their new historical romance novel, Her Heart for a Compass. (Image from Getty Images)

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, on historical fiction

Fern Riddell

Contraception, consent & erotic connection: sex through history

Colour portrait of Jane Austen (1775–1817) drawn by her sister Cassandra. Dated 1810. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Jane Austen: a guide to her life, books and death – plus 8 fascinating facts

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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

Catherine Fletcher discusses what is known about the private life and relationships of the Renaissance polymath, and considers the historical inspirations for the new TV drama Leonardo. (Image by Getty Images)

Leonardo da Vinci’s private life

Drawing of an old and young man, possibly Salai, by Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci’s private relationships: what’s known?

The bigamy trial that scandalised Georgian England

Nell Gwyn was a mistress of King Charles II

Nell Gywn: the orange girl who became a king’s mistress in Restoration England

Broadcaster and author Cathy Newman shares stories of duos that changed the course of history. (Image by Getty Images)

Rivalries and romances: couples that shook up history

An Athenian red-figure kylix (cup) dating from around 510–500 BC depicts a young pentathlete pulling his older lover towards him for a kiss. In many of the city-states of ancient Greece, sex between a man and a youth was an accepted – even idealised – form of love, its virtues extolled in works by writers including Plato. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

General ancient history

Pride and prejudice: same-sex relations through history

Historian Carol Dyhouse talks about how women's lives, dreams and loves have transformed in the decades since 1950, from the advent of the pill to the impact of second-wave feminism. (Image by Alamy)

Sex, romance and rights: women’s lives since 1950