Politics in the United Kingdom has recently been awash with allegations of scandal, corruption and malfeasance. It is, unfortunately, nothing new. When Robert Walpole resigned on February 1st 1742 he left in his wake a lengthy trail of political successes, ruthless dealings and reverberating allegations of corruption. Commonly referred to…

James Stanhope, who was the First Earl Stanhope, can lay claim to being the first Prime Minister of England. …

For the pub quiz or the TV game show the name of the only British Prime Minister to be assassinated is useful to know. Less well-known is the name of his assassin: John Bellingham. Even less well-known is why he did it and what happened afterwards. On May 11th 1812…

No doubt you have seen it: Vladimir Putins’ long, oval table. I would guess that it is at least three metres long. It has, I think, three supports beneath it, saving it from looking like a misplaced suspension bridge. It is a white table, possibly embossed around the edges, although…

“Can you tell me,” enquired Mr Louis Staunton of the local postmaster, “whether Forbes Road, Penge, is in the county of Surrey or Kent?” It was a question that, later, he surely regretted asking, overheard as he was by a relative of his deceased wife, Harriet. Staunton needed to know…

Charles Bravo was a successful lawyer in Victorian London. His wife, born Florence Campbell, had been previously married to one Captain Ricardo, a very wealthy dipsomaniac. After they separated, he died and left his wealth to Florence. When his body was examined traces of the poison antimony were discovered. Florence…

Sir Robert Peel, who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the Tory party in parliament, was targeted for assassination by one Daniel McNaughten. At least, that’s what people thought. Daniel grew up in Glasgow and worked for his father before setting up his own business…

A grim tale of murder and police incompetence June 27th 1881. London, England: The height of summer. Even so a dark but significant day in the annals of British criminal history. Mr Isaac Gold, now an elderly but financially comfortable 64 year old; a dealer in coins. In the morning…

A one woman fight against male oppression — It is quite well-known that for around two hundred years it was possible for a man to get his hands on his wife’s money and assets by having her certified a lunatic and locked in a private madhouse. To make this easy, the man in question only needed to pay…