Elizabeth I is often portrayed as a ruthless 'man's woman', who derided her own sex - and loved to flirt with the young men at her court. Yet she was born into a world of women and it is her relationships with these women that provide the most fascinating insight into the character of this remarkabl[...]

Henrietta Howard, later Countess of Suffolk, was the long-term mistress and confidante of King George II. She was also, as Tracy Borman's wonderfully readable biography reveals, a dedicated patron of the arts; a lively and talented intellectual in her own right; a passionate advocate for the rights [...]

Thomas Cromwell is known to millions as the leading character in Hilary Mantel's bestselling Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. But who was the real Cromwell? Born a lowly tavern keeper's son, Cromwell rose swiftly through the ranks to become Henry VIII's right hand man, and one of the most powerful[...]

Around the year 1049, William, Duke of Normandy and future conqueror of England, raced to the palace of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders. The count's eldest daughter, Matilda, had refused William's offer of marriage and publicly denounced him as a bastard. Encountering the young woman, William furiously[...]