Laura O’Brien is a cultural historian of modern France, and a senior lecturer in the Department of Humanities at Northumbria University. She is currently working on a book about theatrical and cinematic representations of Napoleon.

Reviews
The Hall of Signs in the Musée Carnavalet – Histoire de Paris.

The new Musée Carnavalet brings the history of Paris bang up to date

The museum devoted to the history of the Paris is itself an important part of that history – so it’s a relief that so many of its quirks remain

13 Dec 2021
Comment
Geoffrey Rush as the Marquis de Sade in ‘Quills’ (2000).

How the Marquis de Sade became a pillar of the French establishment

The state has just shelled out €4million for the libertine’s most notorious work – how times have changed

10 Aug 2021
Comment

The celebrity horse that’s putting Napoleon in the shade

Hanging a plastic skeleton of Napoleon’s favourite horse above his tomb may not be as wildly inappropriate as it seems

6 May 2021

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The new Musée Carnavalet brings the history of Paris bang up to date

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Masterpiece [Re]discovery 2022. Photo: Ben Fisher Photography, courtesy of Masterpiece London

The Masterpiece podcast: episode three

This episode explores an ancient funeral stele, Marie Antoinette’s breast bowl, and how digital technologies are helping to preserve Egyptian heritage sites

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The many faces of Mary Magdalene

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In praise of the cat ladies of contemporary art