1895: A Remarkable Railway Crash in Paris
The day in 1895 when a locomotive ploughed through the wall of Montparnasse Station
Features
Here you can explore our archive of long form pieces, written by expert historians. In these features, they explain where they found their ideas, how they crafted their stories, what new discoveries they have made and arguments they have proposed.
1865: Meet the Countess of Castiglione
In the 1860s, 'La Divine Comtesse' was considered the most beautiful woman of her day
1926: Driving a Flock of Sheep through London
In the 1920s the last traces of old Dickensian London faded as the modern city grew at pace
Shakespeare’s Lost Years
Tinker? Tailor? Soldier? Spy? Howard Linskey looks back at the most mysterious phase of Shakespeare's life
1888: The Eiffel Tower: The Beauty and the Terror
The Parisian skyline was changing in a strange and stirring way in July 1888 when Gustave Eiffel led a tour of his majestic new tower
1917: Johnny Reynolds, 'Human Fly', Thrills Crowd
On Wednesday 5 September 1917, the daredevil climber Johnny Reynolds performed in Washington D.C.
1941: Mill District, Pittsburgh
We search for the source of this classic image by one of twentieth century's great documentary photographers
Martha Dodd: A Yank in the KGB
Brendan McNally describes the strange sequence of events that took a girl from Chicago to Nazi Berlin
Lord of the Flies and the Second World War
Dr Nicola Presley traces the hope and despair of William Golding's novel back to the years of war
Winner of the Cundill History Prize: Native Nations
Historian Kathleen DuVal is awarded one of the most prestigious history prizes