Social history

Jacob Rees-Mogg. (Photo by Getty Images)

Jacob Rees-Mogg on the Victorians

Men enjoying a drink and a chat in a coffee house, 1674. Coffee houses became known as ‘schools of the wise’, where people would gossip, argue and discuss the breaking news of the day. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A drink for the devil: 8 facts about the history of coffee

Peasants in the Middle Ages at a cattle market. Cows appear to have been difficult to manage in the medieval period, and caused several deaths. (Photo by INTERFOTO /Alamy)

5 strange causes of death in the medieval period

A group of household servants photographed in Northumberland, c1860–80. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

What was life like as a 19th-century servant?

One of the earliest and most famous examples of extremism comes from ancient Rome. Starting in 264 BC and continuing for more than a century, Rome engaged in a series of wars with neighbouring Carthage. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A brief history of extremism – from ancient Rome to al Qaeda

A portrait of Anne Lister

The real ‘Gentleman Jack’: the secret life of Anne Lister, Britain’s ‘first modern lesbian’

In his native Como, Pliny the Younger's fame is reflected in his statue on the city cathedral's imposing west front, which was built in the 15th century. (Image by AKG Images)

The Library Pliny’s Rome: Vesuvius, vice and vestal virgins

A portrait of Fridtjof Nansen, taken after his daring expedition across Greenland. (Image by Alamy)

My history hero Paul Rose chooses Fridtjof Nansen

A 1954 illustration of a woman wearing nylons. Lightweight, easy to conceal and fiercely sought after, stockings were a favourite with smugglers. (Photo by Bridgeman)

The Library Nylon pirates: the postwar craze for cut-price stockings

Historian and geographer Jared Diamond

Books interview with Jared Diamond: “With countries, as with people, crises attract attention”

Jared Diamond (Photo by Jochen Braun)

Jared Diamond on countries in crisis

Henry, who would would later accede to the throne as Henry VIII, as a baby. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

The Library Henry VIII: the boy who would be king

Great Pyramid of Giza. Egypt. (Photo by Olgakostenko | Dreamstime.com)

10 of the most surprising numbers in history

Wall painting from The House of the Faun, built during the 2nd century BC in the Roman city of Pompeii, depicting an erotic satyr and nymph. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

In bed with the Romans: a brief history of sex in Ancient Rome