The Copybook

Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.

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1555

By Josiah Wedgwood (1730–1795), via Wikimedia Commons. CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Fashionable Freedom by Thomas Clarkson

Josiah Wedgwood’s promotional gift made Abolitionism fashionable.

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1556

© Derek Voller, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Mrs Clements by Clay Lane

Mrs Clements of Durham is not a household name, but the product she invented is.

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1557

© JThomas, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Richard Arkwright by Clay Lane

Arkwright invented the factory, without which modern life would be impossible.

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1558

© Derek Harper, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

The Story of ‘Oliver Twist’ by Clay Lane

Fate and a vicious professional thief named Fagin conspire to trap orphan Oliver Twist into a life of crime.

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1559

© RonitGutman, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.

The Birds by Clay Lane

Two men fed up with Athenian politics decide to build a city in the sky.

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1560

Photo by Sarah Gardiner, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Cuthbert and the Miracle of the Wind by Clay Lane

The young monk taught some hard-hearted pagans a lesson they’d never forget.

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Clay Lane The Copybook
About Clay Lane nicholas@claylane.uk

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

May 7 NS

April 24 OS

The Great Northern War : Peter the Great wanted Russia to join the nations of Western Europe, but the nations of Western Europe refused to make room for him.
‘Hail, Liberty!’ : Kipling borrowed from the Greek Independence movement to give thanks for the end of the Great War.
The First Traffic Lights : The busy crossroads outside the Houses of Parliament was the testing ground for a new technology.
Good Companions : Explain what these wise classical authors are telling us.
The Rule of the Road : Being a free citizen doesn’t mean that everyone else has to get out of your way.
Blind Courage : George Santayana reprimanded politicians and military men who thought war was good for the country’s soul.
Patience : Make a single sentence out of these three ideas.
The Angel Cried : A hymn sung in the weeks after Easter, imagining how Gabriel brought the news of Christ’s resurrection to Mary.
She was a Phantom of Delight : Mary Wordsworth wasn’t pretty or bookish, but she was kind and vital, and William loved her.
Hardly : Tone down these bold assertions with ‘hardly’.
The Death of Julius Caesar : When Julius Caesar entered the Senate that day, a note warning him of treachery was clutched in his hand — unread.
Two Letters Home : A German soldier stopped the Great War so he could ask Captain Hulse to post a letter for him.
Smile : Choose adjectives of praise for these nouns, at about the 7/10 level.
The Making of Mark : St Mark wrote his Gospel as a summary of the preaching of St Peter.
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