Leigh Hunt looks back to a memorable event in a long life.

Britain’s fear of Russia led her to attempt regime change in Afghanistan, but it cost many lives and damaged the army’s reputation.

Robert Browning, aboard ship in sight of Gibraltar, reflects on the momentous events in British history that have happened nearby.

Charles Dickens sketches for us the shyly ingratiating youth who gets himself in a tangle in the presence of Beauty.

Samuel Smiles explains why the London and Birmingham Railway was an achievement superior to the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Thomas Wright never earned more than a foreman’s wage, but he helped hundreds of prisoners back into society.