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William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare lived through one of the most turbulent yet thrilling eras of English history – a period of plague, riots and political and religious tensions – and went on to become one of history's most famous playwrights. He has been portrayed numerous times on stage and on screen – but how much do you know about England's bard?
Race, love & money: 8 Shakespeare plays that reveal the past. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.
To mark the 400th anniversary of the publication of the First Folio compiling Shakespeare’s dramas, we spoke to eight experts about what his plays reveal about themes including love, death, power and money
Why was King James VI and I obsessed with witch hunts?
The witch hunts that swept across Europe between 1450 and 1750 are one of the most controversial and terrifying phenomena in history, resulting in the trial of around 100,000 people (most of them women), a little under half of whom were put to death. Here, Tracy Borman explores the most notorious royal witch-hunter of all time: James VI and I...
Shakespeare: Past Master8. The Tempest. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.
With its spirits and jesters, wizards and goddesses, the playwright’s late-era romance may seem a frothy concoction – yet it also tells us much about gender dynamics in the 17th century
Shakespeare: Past Master7. The Merchant of Venice. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.
Transporting audiences to a ruthless world of moneylending and murderous revenge, the drama features characters now widely regarded as offensively stereotypical – but also offers insights into how nascent capitalism was viewed in the playwright’s era
Jane Austen
Jane Austen is one of the most recognised names in English literature. Her six major novels – Pride and Prejudice; Sense and Sensibility; Persuasion; Mansfield Park; Northanger Abbey and Emma – are considered classics today, renowned for their portrayal of English middle-class life in the early 19th century. Learn more about the author and her work
Happily ever after? Love and marriage in Austen's era. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.
Rory Muir takes us on a journey through Regency marriage, from engagements and elopements to going on honeymoon with your mother-in-law
Regency Masterclass, with Dr Lizzie Rogers. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.
Dr Lizzie Rogers and Charlotte Hodgman explore some of the key learnings from the recent HistoryExtra Academy Regency course
Regency Britain: An age of war and revolution. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.
Jane Austen’s lifetime coincided with near-constant conflict and bloodshed on both sides of the Atlantic
Reading between the lines: the real-life events that inspired Jane Austen. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.
Beneath the genteel surface of decorous society, unrest simmered in the world – and works – of Jane Austen
Oscar Wilde
The Anglo-Irish Victorian playwright Oscar Wilde was the toast of 1890s London, famous for his society plays and flamboyant wit, as well as his support of aestheticism. He later became known for his affairs with men and, after two hugely public and damaging trials, Wilde was in 1895 convicted of 'gross indecency' – a charge which criminalised homosexual people that no longer exists in the UK – and sentenced to two years' imprisonment
Challenging gender in the Victorian Age: the 'masculine' New Woman and 'effeminate' New Man. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.
As the Victorian age neared its end, a vibrant cultural movement emerged that flipped conventional notions of femininity and masculinity on their head. Jad Adams reveals how a new generation challenged stereotypical gender identities
From Oscar Wilde to David Irving: 9 landmark libel & defamation cases through history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.
Following the verdict in the ‘Wagatha Christie’ libel trial in the UK’s High Court, historian Sean Lang explains how the law of libel and defamation has developed in England and looks at nine landmark cases…
Oscar Wilde's tragic end
It was a bitter conclusion to a life that had so often featured glittering success. Emma Slattery Williams explores the decline of celebrated Irish writer Oscar Wilde
7 facts you (probably) didn’t know about Oscar Wilde
The Anglo-Irish Victorian playwright Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was the toast of 1890s London, famous for his society plays and flamboyant wit, as well as his support of aestheticism. He later became known for his affairs with men and, after two hugely public and damaging trials, Wilde was in 1895 convicted of 'gross indecency' – a charge which criminalised homosexual people that no longer exists in the UK – and sentenced to two years' imprisonment
Book recommendations
Love literature and looking for something to read next? We've got you covered with our book reviews and guides – from historical fiction to the best history books and classics
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens is widely regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. He wrote a string of bestselling novels and short stories including The Pickwick Papers, Nicholas Nickleby, A Christmas Carol and Great Expectations and invented some of literature’s best-known characters
Great poets from history
From Geoffrey Chaucer to the poets of the First World War, discover more about great poets from history
Poetry and protestWW1 poet Siegfried Sassoon
He is remembered as one of the greatest poets of his generation. But what drove Siegfried Sassoon to decry the horrors of World War I so publicly, even when he risked facing the wrath of his own side?
WW1 poets5 famous figures you should know about
From scathing verses on the horrors of life in the trenches to laments on the tragedy of a lost generation, the First World War inspired some of British poetry's most poignant and affecting work. Here, Ellie Cawthorne highlights five influential British writers whose lives and work were shaped by the conflict…
Cosmopolitan Chaucer: the 14th-century poet’s inventive, international life. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.
Geoffrey Chaucer is often hailed as the ‘father of English literature’. Yet, argues Marion Turner, who has written an acclaimed biography of the poet, this epithet fails to capture the radical nature of his work
The Brontës
Against a backdrop of incredible personal tragedy, three modest, Victorian women from Yorkshire would forever change the face of English literature. Learn more about the world’s greatest literary sisters: Anne, Charlotte and Emily Brontë
LITERATURE | HistoryExtra podcast episodes
A brief history of language and literature
From the origins of the printing press to the history behind the Bible and the dictionary, learn more about the history of the written word...
Children's literature
From the real history that inspired Harry Potter to the story of popular children's authors Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton and Beatrix Potter – learn more about these literary favourites
Roald Dahl11 things you might not know about the children's author
He is one of Britain's most beloved writers, the creator of more than 20 children's books including Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG. But how much do you know about the author? Here we explore his life and works, as well as his controversial views which clouded celebrations of his centenary in 2016…
The real magic of Harry Potter: 15 details the wizarding world borrows from history
To mark the 20-year anniversary of the release of the film Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Dr Hetta Howes investigates the real history that inspired JK Rowling’s magical world…
Why the real Beatrix Potter was more than her children’s tales. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.
As a new exhibition at the V&A Museum in London celebrates the life and inspirations of the beloved children’s author, Sarah Gristwood considers how the much-forgotten elements of Beatrix’s Potter’s work make her so extraordinary…
Historical fiction recommendations for children: the best history books for kids
What are some of the best historical fiction books for children? The team behind BBC History Magazine, BBC History Revealed and HistoryExtra reveal some of their top picks...
