The Disappearance of The Waratah
Kaushik Patowary
Jan 20, 2026
On the evening of 26 July 1909, the SS Waratah sailed from Durban, South Africa, bound for Cape Town. A luxury passenger liner, she was coa...
Showing posts with the label England
England's Coffeehouses and the Birth of Public Debate
Kaushik Patowary
Dec 22, 2025
When coffee first arrived in England in the mid-17th century, it brought with it far more than a new beverage. It introduced a radically new...
Britain's K-Class Submarines And The Battle of May Island
Kaushik Patowary
Dec 9, 2025
In the years leading up to the First World War, Britain’s Royal Navy faced an existential challenge. Germany’s naval expansion, and especial...
Penny Sit-up, Two-Penny Hangover And Four-Penny Coffin
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 3, 2025
In the slums of Victorian England, poverty was so pervasive that even sleep came with a price tag. Among the poorest of the poor, including ...
John Elwes: The Miser Who Inspired Dickens
Kaushik Patowary
Oct 21, 2025
You may not recognize the name John Elwes, but you almost certainly know his literary and cartoon heirs— Ebenezer Scrooge (the cold-hearted ...
Edith Allonby: The Writer Who Courted Death For Her Novel
Kaushik Patowary
Sep 16, 2025
Getting published has never been easy. Even the most celebrated authors once faced rejection after rejection. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter w...
The Great Tea Race of 1866
Kaushik Patowary
Sep 11, 2025
On a grey morning in late May 1866, the waterfront of Fuzhou buzzed with anticipation. Along the Min River, some of the fastest ships ever b...
The Invincible Bramah Lock
Kaushik Patowary
Aug 12, 2025
It is 1790, and you find yourself at 124 Piccadilly, London. As you stroll past the rows of shops, one window in particular catches your eye...
Robert Coates: The Greatest Bad Actor
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 30, 2025
In the glittering world of 19th-century theatre, where talent was prized and ridicule could end a career, one man defied convention and beca...
James Lind And The First Clinical Trial
Kaushik Patowary
May 12, 2025
In the mid-18th century, the British Royal Navy was the most powerful maritime force in the world, but its dominance came at a high cost. Am...
