In the intellectual histories of and popular commentaries on science and technology, there is a general tension between two competing conceptions of progress. One considers the past to be a golden age ...

The Black Victorians. Who were they? And why haven’t we heard more about them? Similar to the legend that was Dido Elizabeth Belle, a biracial aristocrat (unearthed by filmmaker Amma Asante, who ...

In recent years, the microbiome has made a transformation from “obscure to ubiquitous”. Numerous studies have tentatively associated the whole range of microorganisms that live inside us with our ...

Ever wonder where many of our favorite Christmas traditions come from? The Victorians are to thank for so much of the magic we associate with the season. Their creativity and love for the holidays ...

When Lytton Strachey was asked to propose a toast to his Eminent Victorians, he quoted an eminent Victorian biographer: “When I hear men called ‘judicious’ I suspect them; but when I hear them called ...

Why is a Christmas pudding like the Atlantic Ocean? Because it is full of currants. Have you heard that one before? It’s the kind of groan-worthy pun that often gets an airing at this time of year.

Manners are of more importance than law. . . . The law touches us but here and there and now and then. Manners are what vex or soothe, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize or refine us, by a ...

Frederic Morton is the author of "The Rothschilds: A Family Portrait" and "A Nervous Splendor: Vienna, 1888-1889," both National Book Award finalists. In his very personal “My German Question,” Peter ...