The Copybook

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

715

© Rama, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0 France.

Deborah and Sisera by Clay Lane

The Israelites turn to Deborah for help after twenty years under the harsh rule of King Jabin and his stern general Sisera.

Read

716

© Philip Halling, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

The Battle of the Winwaed by Clay Lane

In 655, the future of England as a Christian nation hung by the slenderest of threads.

Read

717

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

Timely Progress by Sir Charles Prestwood Lucas

Sir Charles Lucas argued that the Industrial Revolution happened at just the right time for everyone in the British Empire.

Read

718

Hastings County Archives, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Three Ages of Empire by Sir Charles Prestwood Lucas

Sir Charles Lucas looked back at the role of the Government, the military and private enterprise during three centuries of British adventure overseas.

Read

719

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

The South Sea Bubble by D. H. Montgomery

An attempt to pay down the National Debt provoked a frenzy of financial speculation.

Read

720

Allen &co. (1902), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Popular Misconceptions by John Buchan

A good knowledge of history is essential if we are to understand words such as liberty and democracy.

Read

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

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

May 3 NS

April 20 OS

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.
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.
Latest

Clay Lane Home

Search

Blog

The Copybook

Think and Speak

Comfortable Words

Word Games

Featured Authors

Featured Subjects

Search The Copybook

About Clay Lane

Close Menu