Modern historians are indebted to him and Cicero called him 'the father of history'. Herodotus wrote his Histories over two thousand years ago and they are as exciting as any airport novel. If you love the movie "300" you'll love the original tale.

22 January 1973 is the date of the US Supreme Court decision of Roe v Wade. By 7-2 the 9 SCOTUS judges - all men - addressed the difficult topic of abortion with great care, respect and sensitivity. Great writing that is notorious and all over the news ri

What links Audrey Hepburn and Bailey Sarian? Truman Capote. The famed author of Breakfast at Tiffany's also penned the book that started all this true crime fuss. Capote's "In Cold Blood" is the original true crime work. Thanks Truman, I guess.

On 4 August 1892 Lizzie Borden's step-mother and her father were found murdered by hatchet. Lizzie was found not guilty because her defence, led by AJ Jennings, was top shelf. The very best defence her dead father's money could buy. But she totally did it

At a house party in 1816, a 19 year old Mary Wollstonecraft wrote the G.O.A.T of mad scientist stories - 'Frankenstein' - and readers the world over and still today, over 200 years later, are in love with her gothic horror sci fi tale of animation, murder

In 1830 a cad named Edward Bulwer-Lytton opened his dreadful novel "Paul Clifford" with the words "It was a dark and stormy night" and to this day the Edward Bulwer-Lytton award for bad writing is awarded to purveyors of purple prose. But some great writi

In 1812 the Brothers Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm, published the first of 3 volumes of fairytales which have been terrifying children all over the world for over 200 years. Take Hansel and Gretel. A tale of poverty and cannibalism. Sweet dreams!

Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum. If you want peace, prepare for war. Roman wisdom from the year 430, as the Empire was in decline. An influential little book called De Re Militaris was created to encourage a return to Rome's glory days. The book remained popula

The Count of Monte Cristo is a 19th century classic of adventure literature by Alexandre Dumas pere. It might as well have been titled "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold" or perhaps "How to escape prison using just a dead body in a sack and a hand-made s

Whistler's Mother is the famous American portrait by genius artist James Whistler. His mother was an austere religious woman but she adored being painted. And she couldn't resist writing all about it to her sister in a perfectly worded 'my-boy-is-the-best