Henry the Eighth's jousting accident by Mary Hoffman

"Henry's the Eighth's jousting accident" and other things we think we know about This is a post about the minutiae of hist...

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November Competition

To win one of five copies of Lesley Downer's The Shogun's Queen, just answer the question in the Comments below: "As a woman, i...

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The Shogun's Harem by Lesley Downer

Our November Guest is Lesley Downer, who will become a regular History Girl next year. Photo credit: Jill Shaw Lesley Downer lived in Japan ...

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Wall to Wall by Julie Summers

I have just spent a magical, exhausting but immensely rewarding week as a tutor on an Arvon Foundation non-fiction course. As I write I am s...

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Anastasia Romanov and The Royal Ballet by Janie Hampton

Earlier this month I attended a performance of the Royal Ballet’s extraordinary production ‘Anastasia’. In gorgeous and arresting dance and...

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Cinema as a compelling mirror, by Carol Drinkwater

A day or so ago I watched, for the first time in many years, Louis Malle's wonderful film,   Lacombe, Lucien . I don't think I...

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Amalfi, by Miranda Miller

When I was eight I went with my family to Positano, on the coast just south of Naples. This was the beginning of my lifelong passion for Ita...

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