Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© Tiia Monto, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.
A survivor of the infamous massacre of Chios in 1821 goes to Marseilles, but discovers he has not entirely left the Turks behind.
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© Fabio Straniero, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
The Victorian practice of hanging sugared nuts on a Christmas tree was bursting with Biblical symbolism.
From Wikimedia Commons. Public domain image.
Henry VII’s great-granddaughter Mary never grasped that even royalty must win the people’s respect.
From Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
The martyr St Euphemia played a vital role in preventing the message of Christmas from being watered down.
Photo by Sgt Mike MacLeod, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
A professional journalist and author recognises that he has met his match
© Roger Jones, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
At twenty-five and owner of his own business, Walter Wilding thought his world was secure, but it was about to be rocked to its foundations.