It’s a good week for anyone interested in the history of houses; a new series of A House Through Time begins, and the paperback edition of the book of the same name is out. If you’re inspired to delve into house history to find out more about the building you live in, or you’re a […]
A House Through Time by Melanie Backe-Hansen and David Olusoga
In recent years house histories have become the new frontier of popular, participatory history. People, many of whom have already embarked upon that great adventure of genealogical research, and who have encountered their ancestors in the archives and uncovered family secrets, are now turning to the secrets contained within the four walls of their homes […]
The living history of traditional folk songs
Voices from the past can still be heard today through the living social history of songs passed down through generations, whether they’re still sung by tradition-bearers, recorded by folk song enthusiasts or printed in broadsides or books, says Fiona Mountain. She tells Historia how the story of a murder committed over 200 years ago lives […]
Two Norfolk singers and the Maid of Australia
Social historian and music writer Bruce Lindsay examines the ways in which different versions of the same song can tell a story of love, seduction, or rape. The song, The Maid of Australia, was in the repertoire of the two traditional singers who are the subject of his most recent book. Sam Larner and Harry […]
The Covent Garden Ladies by Hallie Rubenhold
In 1757, a down-and-out Irish poet, the head waiter at the Shakespear’s Head Tavern in Covent Garden, and a celebrated London courtesan became bound together by the publication of a little book: Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies. This salacious work – detailing the names and ‘specialities’ of the capital’s sex-workers – became one of […]