January 15, 2016
The Rest Is History
Roman toilets, novels about (and for) housewives, and the history of women’s swimming in America.
Read MoreAugust 15, 2025
January 15, 2016
Roman toilets, novels about (and for) housewives, and the history of women’s swimming in America.
Read MoreJanuary 08, 2016
Benjamin Franklin’s pranks, men’s dominance of history books, and the dangers of premature burial.
Read MoreDecember 18, 2015
Christmas on Ellis Island, an unexpected Poe bestseller, and the question of a hyphen.
Read MoreDecember 04, 2015
A forgotten genius, a confusing confection, and Herman Melville goes to London.
Read MoreNovember 23, 2015
Michael Dirda explores the lives and histories behind Sherlock Holmes.
Read MoreNovember 20, 2015
The prison memoirs of a French revolutionary, the weather of famous books, and literature women should avoid.
Read MoreNovember 16, 2015
“What explains the Trump craze? Plato would not have been surprised. He would diagnose Trump as an aspiring tyrant.”
Read MoreNovember 06, 2015
Deadly gowns, Shakespeare’s skull, and chickens that rain from the sky.
Read More2023:
Fitness instructor carves his girlfriend’s name into the Colosseum.
c. 1850:
Thompson of Sunderland makes his mark on Pompey’s pillar.
2023:
Writers on strike search for romance at the picket line.
c. 1945:
Young communists engage in party matchmaking.