Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© CHK46, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 4.0
A proudly British group of islands far off in the South Atlantic.
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© Chris Downer, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
England’s first and greatest historian explains why history is so important.
© Erlend Schei, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
An improbable chain of coincidences led to one of the great medical revolutions just when it was most needed.
© Tony Hisgett, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
Elizabeth Bennet began to wonder if being Mr Darcy’s wife might have had its compensations.
© Nic Redhead, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
How the cricketing rivalry between England and Australia got its name.
© Zarateman, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 1.0 Universal public domain dedication.
Napoleon’s six-year-long campaign (1808-1814) to bring Spain and Portugal into his united Europe was frustrated by Arthur Wellesley.