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...English throne for around ten years when The Duchess of Malfi was first performed. James would wholeheartedly have endorsed the sentiments expressed in Antonio’s opening speech; indeed, he had himself produced a comparable description of the ideal royal court in his book on kingship, Basilikon Doron (Greek for Royal Gift) (1599). The book is addressed to his eldest son...

...English philosopher John Locke (1632–1704): Locke's question How is it that ‘the thoughts of men's minds [can] be conveyed from one to another’ (Locke [1706] 1997, III.1.2)? Locke's description of linguistic communication makes it sound like a kind of telepathy, and perhaps that is a useful comparison. By using language we are able to ‘read each other's minds’...

...English history of ballooning, concluded that: many, if not the greatest number of the aerial voyages, though said to be purposely made for the improvement of science, were performed by persons absolutely incapable of accomplishing this purpose; and who, in reality, had either pecuniary profit alone in view, or were stimulated to go up with a balloon, for the sake of the...

...English country house. The soon-to-be victim is recently remarried to a mysteriously bearded and slightly smarmy younger man. The marriage has thrown into disarray the inheritance plans of her two step-sons who both also live in the house. Residents also include the exotically beautiful wife of the older son and the love interest of the younger, a nurse who happens to...