The Gunpowder Plot: Terror And Faith In 1605

By Antonia Fraser (2003)

With a narrative that grips the reader like a detective story, Antonia Fraser brings the characters and events of the Gunpowder Plot to life. Dramatically recreating the conditions and motives that surrounded the fateful night of 5 November 1605, she unravels the tangled web of religion and politics that spawned the plot.

Fact of the Day

Henry II famously beat a Cistercian abbot in a drinking (‘toasting’) contest.

Quote of the Day

"Foul as it is, hell itself is made more foul by the presence of John. "

~ Matthew Paris (13th century chronicler) on King John

On This Day

1846 Scottish surgeon Robert Liston was the first European to use anaesthesia during an amputation. He could amputate a leg in two and a half minutes.

1898 Scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discovered the radioactive element radium.

1937 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs', the world's first full-length animated film, premiered in the USA

1946 A tsunami caused by an undersea earthquake killed at least 1,362 and left thousands homeless in Japan.

1967 Louis Washkansky, the first man to undergo a heart transplant, died in Cape Town, South Africa, 18 days after his operation.

1988 Pan Am Flight 103 exploded as it was flying over Lockerbie, Scotland. All 243 passengers and 16 crew, and 11 residents of Lockerbie were killed