Public executions were not abolished out of tenderness towards the criminal. They were abolished because of the effect on the people watching, and the dangers of making human death a source of commercial entertainment. Here's Charles Dickens in The Times, after witnessing an execution in 1849.

Remember! Ghosts are not just for October. They are for Christmas, the anniversaries of unavenged murders, and really any time you least expect them.

Congratulations! Brilliant book! x

Sainsbury's shop? Vacuuming?

Tick, tock, you’re going to die!

I’ve gone down a dark hole of looking up Tudor items on Vinted and oh my word

Or even short ones!

Thank you!

Exquisite. I'm about to read it for the third time. She signed my copy!!

(I'm not including novels that cover the Revolution more generally as there are lots of corkers, Place of Greater Safety being the best).

Bonjour. I have now read a lot of very bad fiction (and a lot of very good non-fiction) about Marie Antoinette. Surely there must be some good novels that I've missed, other than Farewell, My Queen and Dumas.

England is a made up thing. It has no basis in the ineluctable laws of nature. Its extent is defined by Edward II getting his arse handed to him. Athelstan conquering York. The Welsh of Cumbria were incorporated, the Welsh of Gwynedd were not. It is a political idea, an aspiration - not taxonomy.

As my cousin found out, they absolutely are detachable. The problem is when you need to reattach them.

Goth Robin! 🖤

When I say iconic, I of course mean moronic.

‘When you come to Auschwitz, bring some food and drink’. Iconic.

The Official Conciergerie Inventory listing the meager possessions Marie Antoinette left in her cell before her execution. Somehow, this one of the saddest things I’ve seen about her.