The Copybook

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

1327
The Sign from Heaven Charlotte Brontë

Was it an over-excited imagination, or an answer to prayer?

Jane Eyre has fled Edward Rochester’s house and arms in shame, after discovering he was hiding his insane wife in an attic. So when the Revd St John Rivers proposes a marriage of convenience followed by a life of self-sacrifice as missionaries in India, the heartbroken Jane gives the idea serious thought.

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1328
Henry VII to Mary I Clay Lane

A quick overview of the Kings and Queens of England from Henry VII in 1485 to Mary I in 1553.

Below is a brief overview of the Kings of England from Henry VII, the last English monarch to win the crown by right of battle, to his grand-daughter Mary I, the country’s first undisputed Queen regnant.

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1329
Henry VI to Henry VII Clay Lane

A quick overview of the Kings of England from Henry VI in 1422 to Henry VII in 1485.

Below is a brief overview of the Kings of England from Henry VI, Duke of Lancaster, who lost out to Edward IV, Duke of York, in 1471, to Henry VII, who became the last King of England to win his crown on the battlefield.

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1330
Mary I to James I Clay Lane

A quick overview of the Kings and Queens of England from Mary I in 1553 to James I in 1603.

Below is a brief overview of the Kings of England from Mary I, who almost let England fall into the hands of Spain, to James I, a Scottish King who inherited the English crown.

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1331
James I to the Interregnum Clay Lane

A quick overview of the Kings of England from James I in 1603 to the Interregnum in 1651.

Below is a brief overview of the Kings of England from James I in 1603, in whose reign the first American colonies were established, to the Interregnum in 1649, when for eleven years England was a republic.

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1332
The Interregnum to Anne Clay Lane

A quick overview of the Kings and Queens of England from the Interregnum in 1651 to Queen Anne in 1702.

Below is a brief overview of the Kings of England from the Interregnum in 1649, when for eleven years England was a republic, to Queen Anne in 1702, the last of the Stuarts and the first ruler of Great Britain.

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