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  • Article

Shakespeare and the four humours

Blood. Phlegm. Black bile. Yellow bile. The theory of the four humours informed many of Shakespeare's best-known characters, including the phlegmatic Falstaff.

  • Article

When monarchs healed the sick

Our current Queen fortunately doesn’t have to spend hours laying hands on the sick to cure them. But it was a different story for monarchs of the early modern era, whose touch was a sought-after treatment for scrofula.

  • Article

Louis Wain’s cryptic cats

Once famous for his quirky cat illustrations, today Louis Wain is often portrayed as a ‘psychotic’ artist whose illness can be mapped out through his drawings. Here Bryony Benge-Abbott takes a more rounded view.

  • Article

Heating up and drying out

Menopause doesn’t have to signify old age, but when your body feels like it’s letting you down, it’s hard not to believe that your useful life may be over.

All stories (20)

Images

  • [Humorous postcard of a Red Cross nurse bringing a basket of wine etc].
  • [Humorous postcard of a Red Cross nurse bringing a basket of wine etc].
  • Jonathan Jay : humorous patter song / written, composed and sung by Clifford Grey.
  • Jonathan Jay : humorous patter song / written, composed and sung by Clifford Grey.
  • Jonathan Jay : humorous patter song / written, composed and sung by Clifford Grey.
  • Four hundred humorous illustrations / by George Cruikshank ; with portrait and biographical sketch.
  • Jonathan Jay : humorous patter song / written, composed and sung by Clifford Grey.
  • Jonathan Jay : humorous patter song / written, composed and sung by Clifford Grey.
  • Jonathan Jay : humorous patter song / written, composed and sung by Clifford Grey.
  • Jonathan Jay : humorous patter song / written, composed and sung by Clifford Grey.
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