How a ballerina survived the Gulag

Did you know that George Orwell only found national acclaim as an author in the final years of his life, as his health was worsening? Or that, with the growing prospect of death looming increasingly large, he sought refuge on a remote Scottish island? Historian Robert Colls tells ...  Show more

When the late Queen acceded to the throne in 1952, Britain, though left bankrupt and reeling from the Second World War, was still a major global power. By the end of Elizabeth II’s reign in 2022 – the longest in Britain’s history – the nation and its place in the world was marked ...  Show more

Whilst ballet is undoubtedly one of the most graceful and elegant art forms, it also has a long and dark history of sexual exploitation.

How did King Louis XIV's love of the ballet fundamentally change it? What was the patronage system and how did dancers use it to t ...

This week David talks to Katja Hoyer and Lea Ypi about life under communism. East Germany was the most successful of the communist states of Eastern Europe, measured by economic prosperity and sporting success. Did the GDR ever really offer a model of how Soviet-style communism c ...  Show more

As the daughter of Josef Stalin, it's safe to say Svetlana Iosifovna Alliluyeva was never destined for a normal life. Still, no one could have predicted the bizarre globe-trotting adventures she would take as she escaped the Soviet Union and became the world's most famous defecto ...  Show more

Thanks HelloFresh! Go to https://www.hellofresh.com/50teatime  and use code 50TEATIME for 50% off plus free shipping! The daughters of Tsar Nikolai II of Russia and his wife Alexandra Feodrovna were born into the wealthiest royal family in the world. Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anast ...  Show more