The Copybook

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

1537

© David Croker, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Presumption and Innocence by Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens chastises those who alter the plots of classic tales to push some social agenda of their own.

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1538

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

‘Please Sir, I Want Some More!’ by Charles Dickens

Oliver was elected as the unwilling spokesman for all the hungry children.

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1539

© William Cho, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

The Insect on the Leaf by Charles Dickens

Scrooge begs the Spirit of Christmas to tell him what will happen to Tiny Tim.

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1540

© Ricardo Liberato, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

A King-Sized Conspiracy by Anthony Hope

Rudolf Rassendyll is on holiday in Ruritania when he stumbles across a plot by the King’s brother to steal the crown.

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1541

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

The Footprints at the Gate by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

What Dr Mortimer saw beside the body of Sir Charles Baskerville sent him hastily to London, to consult Sherlock Holmes.

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1542

© Peter Smith, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Timothy Hackworth by Clay Lane

Timothy Hackworth (1786-1850) turned steam locomotives into a reliable commercial success.

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© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

April 29 NS

April 16 OS

A Literary Mystery : In 1798, ‘Plays on the Passions’ appeared in London bookstores, but no one seemed to know who had written them.
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.
Zheng He and the Rise of Malacca : Malacca became a refuge from the overbearing empires of the Far East, thanks to a celebrated Chinese admiral.
Confusables : Compose sentences to bring out the similarities and differences between these words.
Jill and I : Include yourself in these sentences about Jill.
Saddled : Use these words in sentences, and see if you can use one of them as a verb.
Russia’s Heroic Stand : In 1941, with much of the West subdued, Adolf Hitler bent the full force of his hatred on Moscow.
Approachable : Replace the verb ‘can’ with these alternatives, and explain how the meaning of the sentence has changed.
The First Easter : In a translation from the Authorized Version of the Bible, published in 1611, St Mark recounts the discovery of Christ’s empty tomb.
A Collect for Easter Day : A short prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, for the day of Christ’s resurrection.
The Gambler : Which well-known expression is Dr Johnson talking about here?
If I Had But Two Little Wings : Samuel Taylor Coleridge holds on to those precious moments when loneliness is a problem for tomorrow.
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