Henry VII & The Pretenders

On the 22nd August 1485 a 331 year old dynasty came to an end with the death of the last Plantagenet, King Richard III. His death at the Battle of Bosworth changed everything for his successor Henry Tudor, now known as King Henry VII. For Henry this brought to an end years of exile in …

The Olympians

Here in the 21st century Greek mythology continues to hold our attention. These ancient stories have provided inspiration for a number of recent novels like Rick Riodan's Percy Jackson saga, Madeline Miller's Song of Achilles and Circe and Natalie Haynes' A Thousand Ships. They've also provided inspiration for Hollywood, where these ancient stories become blockbusters …

Local History Month: Leeds’ First Theatre

"you go to plays! and what do you see there?...you see the devil’s children grinning at you". Safe to say with views like this, not everyone was a theatre fan when the first theatre opened in Leeds on the 24th July 1771. Before 1771 Leeds had a few singing rooms in local pubs and visiting …

Recommendation: Leeds Library

As your walking through Commercial Street in Leeds' busy city centre, you'd be forgiven for missing Leeds Library. With Starbucks at one end and Lush at the other this street has a lot of bright storefronts to grab a busy shopper's attention, but it's the archway in the middle that offers the most to anyone …

Recommendation: ‘The House of Clarence’ by Alison Weir

Recently on Twitter I came across author and historian Alison Weir's kind offer to send history fans a copy of 'The House of Clarence' as a nice distraction during the UK lockdown. It's a short biography sent as a word.doc focusing on George, Duke of Clarence (brother of Edward IV and Richard III) and his …

Snapshot of History: The Imperial Fabergé Eggs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X74vaKXnGVA   What do you make of these extraordinary easter eggs? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! Never want to miss a post? Sign up to my mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/gDpJjb (I promise no spam!) [SCRIPT] Happy Easter everyone! On Easter day 135 years ago, an incredibly extravagant Easter present was given to …

Recommendation: Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

"An epic of love, hatred, war and revolution" Covering the period 1911-1924 Ken Follett's 2010 novel 'Fall of Giants' follows 5 families in Wales, England, Germany, Russia & the USA as they navigate their lives before, during and after the First World War... Follett does a fantastic job of weaving these very different families together, …

Trailblazers: Ida B Wells

We're coming to the end of Women's History Month, and to round off my #Trailblazers series we'll be exploring the legendary Ida B Wells. Born into slavery, Ida B Wells (1862-1931) would become a powerful figure in the civil rights and women's suffrage movements; a dynamic investigative journalist she shed light on the barbaric practice …

Trailblazers: Christine de Pizan (GUEST POST: @galleryofthecityofladies)

When Some Sources Say asked me to write a post about a female trailblazer for ‘Women’s History Month’ Christine de Pizan came instantly to mind. She was the inspiration behind my Instagram account ‘Gallery of the City of Ladies’ and is widely thought to be the ‘First professional woman of letters in Europe’.   Christine …

Trailblazers: Marie Curie

Many of you will be familiar with the name of Marie Curie from the Marie Curie Charity, but how much do you know much about their trailblazing namesake? Well buckle up folks, you're in for quite a ride...Marie didn't just see the glass ceiling she went ahead and smashed it. Maria Salomea Skłodowska was born …