Weird and wonderful

Machines produce the final statistics for a census, c1931. From 1841, censuses helped the government calculate everything from the size and distribution of the population to the contrasting death rate in each of the hundreds of occupations. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Bulldog burners and dungboys: classifying occupations in British censuses (1841-1911)

Illustration of couple with bubonic plague

Where the Black Death happened: 9 places connected to the plague

Map of Algiers, c1700. It was here that Icelanders, including Ólafur Egilsson, were sold into slavery. (Culture Club/Getty Images)

Barbary pirates: kidnapped in Iceland

An aquatint shows barbers at work, with varying degrees of success. (Wellcome Collection)

At the edge of reason: shaving and razors in 18th-century Britain

Henry-V-passports-2-39d9438

When were passports as we know them today first introduced?

Scenic View On Pendle Hill At Springtime

The war on witches

English-Normans-e92d5aa

The Normans had a profound influence on Britain. Why then do we not speak French?

(Illustration by Glen McBeth for BBC History Magazine)

What is the origin and meaning of the pirate expression ‘shiver me timbers’?

The man best associated with the new style of landscape gardening was William Kent (c1686–1748), a Yorkshire-born artist and architect. (Public domain)

The English landscape garden

Horse-Trial-714b4b1

What is a deodand?

The-Rector-of-Stiffkey-web-3d516e7

The reverend in the lion’s den

Vampires-3-8039305

Were vampires buried with a stake through their heart?

Dresses worn at court during the Georgian period were often very heavy, and required wide doorways. (Photo by Florilegius/SSPL/Getty Images)

How to survive in the Georgian court

The dark art of blackmail prepared Charles Théveneau de Morande well for a career in espionage. (Alamy)

18th century espionage: the French spy in London

HSC325672
Credit: Detail of a red figure squat lekythos (terracotta) (see also 325673) by Greek, (4th century BC)
Private Collection/ Photo © Heini Schneebeli/ The Bridgeman Art Library
Nationality / copyright status: Greek / out of copyright

Sex in Ancient Greece: to have or not to have?