Sophie Shorland

Portrait of Henry VIII, from the studio of Hans Holbein the Younger, c.1543. Bridgeman Images.

Syphilis and Scurvy: Diagnosing Henry VIII

There is an enduring obsession with understanding the body and mind of Henry VIII, but how sound are diagnoses past and present – and do we need them?

Crimes of Fashion

Clothes in early modern England could quite literally be to die for.

The Summons to Surrender: an Incident in the Spanish Armada, by George Vicat Cole, 19th century.

The Crowd-Funded War

In the wake of the failure of the Spanish Armada, England sought retaliation by launching an invasion of its own. But how to finance such a venture?