Quiz Trail History Blog
Phyllis Broughton: The Broken-Hearted Suitor Who Sent Flowers for Years
After Phyllis Broughton broke off their engagement, John Hedley kept the grand house intended for them and reportedly sent her flowers and produce for years.
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Ian Fleming: The Kent Golf Course That Inspired James Bond's Goldfinger
Ian Fleming loved Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich so much that he transformed it into Royal St Mark's for Bond's famous match with Goldfinger.
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Edward VII, Alice Keppel and Queen Camilla's Extraordinary Family Link
King Edward VII's long-time companion Alice Keppel was Queen Camilla's great-grandmother - while Camilla's husband Charles is Edward VII's great-great-grandson.
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Ellen Terry: The 16-Year-Old Actress Who Married George Frederic Watts
At sixteen, future stage legend Ellen Terry married celebrated painter George Frederic Watts, nearly thirty years her senior. The marriage soon failed - her career did not.
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Joseph Priestley: The Scientist Who Helped Put the Fizz in Our Drinks
Joseph Priestley's 1767 experiments with carbon dioxide from a Leeds brewery helped pioneer artificially carbonated water - science behind the fizz in modern drinks.
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Somerset Maugham and Gerald Haxton: A Love Kept Private
Somerset Maugham spent part of his childhood in Whitstable. Later, his long relationship with Gerald Haxton had to remain guarded in an era when male homosexuality was criminalised.
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Catherine of Aragon Married Henry VIII's Brother Arthur First
Before Catherine of Aragon married Henry VIII, she had been married to his elder brother Arthur. His death changed the Tudor succession - and English history.
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W. H. Davies: From Super-Tramp to an Unexpected Love Story
Poet W. H. Davies wandered America, lost part of a leg, wrote The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp and at fifty-one found an unexpected love with Helen Payne.
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Benjamin Disraeli and Mary Anne: The Marriage That Began with Money
Benjamin Disraeli admitted money played a part in his marriage to wealthy widow Mary Anne Lewis. What followed was a devoted partnership lasting more than thirty years.
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