Napoleon: Hero or Tyrant?
The French still cannot agree on whether Napoleon was a hero or a tyrant. In a 2010 opinion poll, French people were …
Georgian-Era
If Only the Dead Could Talk—the Ghost of the Red Barn Murder
It was the year 1828. In the little English village of Polstead in Suffolk, Mrs. Marten was having a bad dream. A …
Francois Flameng: Interpreter of Beauty
Beautiful places, beautiful people, beautiful clothes—Francois Flameng loved to paint them all. Born in an art studio in …
Lafayette—the Hero of Two Worlds
Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer. To many of us, he is simply the …
Boston's 17th-Century Burying Grounds
The Grim Reaper made frequent visits to colonial Boston. Disease and the difficulties of childbirth sent many men, …
Versailles: the Grandest Palace of Them All
King Louis XIV was so proud of Versailles that he would often give tours to visiting dignitaries himself and even wrote …
20 Exquisite Paintings of 18th-Century Ladies by Joshua Reynolds
Sir Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA (1723 – 1792) was an influential eighteenth-century English portrait …
British Hero Admiral Lord Nelson: Victor at the Battle of Trafalgar, 1805
Born a small sickly baby, the son of a Rector in Norfolk, England, Nelson would go on to become the greatest British …
The Other Lady Diana Spencer: the tragic story of the princess that never was
We all know, love, and remember the Lady Diana Spencer whose wedding in 1981 was watched by an estimated 750 million …
The Tragic Story of a Beautiful Countess Who Became a "Victim of Cosmetics"
Born in Cambridgeshire in 1733 to Irish parents, Maria Gunning was the eldest of seven children. Her father, John …
16 Stunning Sofas from the 18th and 19th Centuries
Today, furniture fills our living and working spaces. It makes a statement about our taste for practicality and …
The Beautiful French Porcelain of Sèvres
Despite a turbulent century of changing taste and technology, Sèvres Manufatory in the suburbs of Paris remained at the …
Mr Darcy's Shirt
In the 1995 BBC rendition of Pride and Prejudice, Colin Firth's portrayal of Mr. Darcy includes a notable cream linen …
20 Enchanting Paintings of Regency England by Edmund Blair Leighton
Perhaps no painter captures the romance of the English Regency better than Edmund Blair Leighton. Just as we, today, are …
12 Dashing Men of the Regency Era
The Regency (1795–1837) was a period when King George III of England was deemed unfit to rule and his son, the Prince of …
10 Fascinating Facts About Chinoiserie
1. Chinoiserie was once the most coveted fashion of the aristocracy During the 17th and 18th centuries, Europeans became …
The History of Handbags — a 5-Minute Guide
Today's designer handbags have a long and storied history. Early Europeans used handbags just as we do today—to store …
The "Beau Monde" High Fashion of the 18th Century
On August 1, 1714, Queen Anne of Great Britain drew her last breath, and the first of a series of Georges ascended to …
Beware the Full Moon. Beware the Lunar Society
The year was 1775. Some very strange events had been observed at an elegant white mansion in Birmingham, England. In the …
The Colorful Shoes of the 18th Century
Adorned with decadent decorative arts and steeped in affectation, it's no surprise that the French Court led European …
20 Handmade Dolls Tell the History of Fashion
This is the story of how a series of exquisite handmade dolls, representing the history of French haute couture made …
Portrait Miniatures: Intimate Expressions of Love
Portrait miniatures were popular among 16th-century English and French aristocrats. Spreading across Europe in the 18th …
The Last of the Mohicans: A Sweeping Romance from the Seven Years' War
The challenge with historical drama for Hollywood movie studios is to make it appealing to a mass audience. Too much …
12 Paintings That Tell Stories from Auguste Toulmouche
French artist Auguste Toulmouche (1829 - 1890) loved to tell stories. But instead of putting quill to paper, he put …
8 Heavenly Austrian Ceiling Frescoes influenced by the Sistine Chapel
How could we begin without first mentioning the granddaddy of all ceiling frescoes that influenced so many others that …
Norfolk Island: "Hell in Paradise"
Does a tiny Australian island in the South Pacific with evergreen pines, jagged cliffs, pure blue waters, and sandy …
A Snuffbox From Russia with Love
The stories from history are all around us. Take this image of a snuffbox from Russia for example. It is part of the …
Darcy vs Darcy - Who's Your Favorite Mr Darcy?
Mr Darcy is the quintessential British romantic hero and one of two central characters in Jane Austen's late-regency …
Portrait of a Lady - a Brief History of the term "Lady"
Today, the term "lady" is often used as a civil term of respect for a woman, as is "gentleman" for a man. But there was …
10 Amazing Facts About the Cursed Hope Diamond
In 1839, a blue diamond weighing over forty-five carats appeared in the collection catalogue of London banker and …
Napoleon Surrenders - marking the End of an Era
Napoleon Bonaparte on Board the 'Bellerophon' in Plymouth Sound by Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, RA, 1815 It was early …
Madame Lebrun - Marie Antoinette's portraitist
A story of joy and tragedy in an age of revolution. Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755 – 1842), also known as Madame …
The USS Constitution - "Old Ironsides"
In 1785, pirates off the Barbary Coast (what is now Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya), were seizing American …