Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
By Charles Sillem Lidderdale (1831-1895), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
When she was ten, Catherine Morland showed none of the qualities needed to impress the ladies who read romantic fiction.
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By John William Waterhouse (1849-1917), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Sir Edward Leithen finds himself revising his opinion of the ‘detestable’ Koré Arabin.
© Francesca Grossi, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Ahab, his mind broken by an obsession, at last confronts the enemy he has hunted so long.
© Gpwitteveen, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
Perhaps European harmonisation would make life easier, but that would be only the beginning.
By Friedrich Graetz, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
John Bright dismissed fears that digging a tunnel under the English Channel would encourage a French invasion.
© Lightburst, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Odysseus recalls meeting Tantalus and Sisyphus, for whom relief was everlastingly beyond their grasp.