Sammy Tran articles

The Brontë novels reshaped fiction, but the sisters' lives were brief and marked by illness, loss, and isolation. All of them met tragic ends.

The Call That Changed EverythingSo I run a small catering company—nothing fancy, just me and my best friend Jen making food that actually tastes like someone cares. We do maybe twenty events a year, tops,...

Few people outside of experienced English history buffs are familiar with the name Henry II. Despite rising to power through blood and conflict, and then proceeding to reign in the same manner as he had started, many people forget Henry II. His ruthlessness expanded England’s power well into France’s borders, and it caused Henry problems when he passed that same trait on to his power-hungry sons. Henry II shaped not just England but Wales, Scotland, Brittany, and Ireland. He became the man with a plan—and only his sons could stop his rampage across Europe.

Queen Victoria may have been the “Grandmother of Europe,” but her own mother was a titan on the home front. Believe me, just like her daughter, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg Saalfeld was no slouch in the drama department. From her scandalous romances to her disturbingly mommie dearest ways, this is one historical figure worth knowing about.

Patricia Highsmith was most famous for her sharp thrillers like The Talented Mr Ripley, where rage and fear seethes on every page. Seemingly every relationship Highsmith ever had, from familial to romantic, was shot through with agony—and, sadly, Highsmith may have been the root of the problem.

If there was ever a man whose actions forever outweighed everything else about him, it was Benedict Arnold. During the American Revolution, he quickly became indispensable and had everything he could possibly need. However, he couldn’t stop hustling and eventually threw it all away. Many historians have deliberated over what complex motives were at the root of his betrayal—but the truth may be a lot simpler.

The Rock of Gibraltar is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world.

Although the Grand Duchess Anastasia suffered a horrifying fate, the controversies surrounding her demise catapulted her to lasting fame. The mystery of the lost Princess Anastasia prevailed for decades—but when the disturbing truth finally came out, rumors of her dramatic escape morphed into the most chilling horror story imaginable.

Calamity Jane’s wild reputation might have made her the star of her day, but there was a heartbreaking dark side to her fame.