The first time I saw Jane Austen described as a ‘prose Shakespeare’ it struck me as absolute perfection. It was George Henry Lewes, in the 19th century, that gave her the epithet, although he ...

Shylock has been residing in a corner of my mind for about four years now, ever since I first studied The Merchant of Venice. I’d like to say ‘quietly’, but he’s not always quiet. I think about him ...

Episode Spoilers The Scholar Francesca Gardiner’s solo effort on The Scholar gave us a deeply fascinating insight into mother and daughter this week. Ruth Wilson’s work on Marisa Coulter is always ...

When the remains of Richard III were formally identified in 2012, it led to new discoveries about his life and times. Among the results of various investigations, it was determined that in the last ...

When Richard III decided that his coronation would take place only ten days after the day he had taken possession of the realm by a secular enthronement in Westminster Hall, he would have known that ...

Episode Two Spoilers The Idea of the North In his lecture ‘The Writer’s Responsibility’, Philip Pullman quotes film director and playwright David Mamet, who says the basic storytelling question is ...

In 2004, following the request of colleagues in Belgium, I discovered the mtDNA sequence of King Richard III and his siblings. 1 Mitochondrial DNA is inherited only in the all-female line. In that ...

The following contains spoilers for Poldark Season 2. Elizabeth Chynoweth has never been in an advantageous position with readers. In the first instance, when the protagonist Ross Poldark returns to ...

Over the last few decades the word “racist” has become almost synonymous with Enid Blyton’s name. Accusations of sexism and classism have also persisted, along with the BBC’s recent desperate campaign ...

Supervitamin Chocolate “Supervitamin Chocolate contains huge amounts of vitamin A and vitamin B. It also contains vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin F, vitamin G, vitamin I, vitamin J, vitamin K ...

Austerity was not necessarily on the menu when it came to royal dining during Lent, even if meat was off limits. ‘Fish days’ were observed throughout the year on Fridays and Saturdays, and Wednesdays ...

Tolkien scholar Wayne Hammond has just discovered two poems written by J.R.R. Tolkien in a 1936 school annual. One of the poems, The Shadow Man, is a much earlier version of The Shadow Bride, which ...