ABRAHAM LINCOLN: How true are historical novels? Gore Vidal's 'Lincoln' draws the political battlefield in Washington during the American Civil War. What does it add to our portrait of one of America's greatest presidents?

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE ARISTOCRACY: The British landed Aristocracy held undisputed power and unparalleled property for over 300 years. How did they keep power for so long and why did their collapse come when it did?

THE FIGHTING TEN: A tin trunk in Ascot reveals the forgotten history of one of the most celebrated families of the Victorian Raj: the story of the ten Battye brothers who fought for British India has been pieced together by their descendants.