How the Victorians Politicized Lace
Scholar Elaine Freedgood tells the story of how, in the face of encroaching industrialism, handmade lace enjoyed a frilly revival.
The Scottish Sisters Who Pioneered Art Nouveau
Margaret and Frances Macdonald and their Glasgow School of Art classmates Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Harold MacNair were Art Nouveau's Glasgow Four.
Did Victorians Really Get Brain Fever?
The melodramatic descriptions of "fevers" in old novels reveal just how frightening the time before modern medicine must have been.
What If We Had All the Birds from Shakespeare in Central Park?
According to birding lore, two of America's most invasive bird species were introduced by a misguided Shakespeare fan named Eugene Schieffelin.
How Hulk Hogan v. Gawker May Change the Face of Journalism
The recent Gawker vs. Hogan spat is the latest in the long history of journalism, free speech, gossip, and the law.
Before KonMari and NotSorry, There Was the Samuel Smiles’ Guide to Self Help
Samuel Smiles' 1859 book, Self Help, offered a groundbreaking approach to self improvement.
Anonymity and Public Debate—in the 1800s
But 150 years ago in Great Britain, the question of what role anonymity should play in public discourse looked completely different than today.