The Turning PointThe year is 1851. It's a time of radical change in Britain, when industrial miracles and artistic innovations rub shoulders with political unrest, poverty and disease. It's also a turbulent time in the private life of Charles Dickens, as he copes with a double bereavement and early signs that his marriage is falling apart. But this formative year will become perhaps the greatest turning point in Dickens's career, as he embraces his calling as a

particularly when it comes to political risk

Funerary rituals show us what people thought about mortality

selected and introduced by comedian and broadcaster Paul Merton

'On Chapel Sands' is a book of mystery and memoir

seaborne colonial empire

Leda Grey is living still

Derek's father Buddy Lee was almost as ashamed of Derek for being gay as Derek was ashamed that his father was a criminal

But what if

John Michell explains how ancient peoples who grasped the timeless principles of sacred geometry were able to create flourishing societies

he wrote for NME

How do we feel happy when we are encouraged to be anxious

Burma and the Dutch East Indies