Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© Alexandr Podgorchuk/Klops.ru, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Lucy Cazalet gives an overview of the remarkable Russian ruler, who showed the courage of a prince and the humility of a saint.
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© Sachkv, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Scottish department store near the Bolshoi Theatre inspired an affection that contrasted sharply with Westminster’s Russophobia.
Via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Young Thomas Cochrane learned early on that for a sailor, making a pet of a parrot could be surprisingly hazardous.
© Aladsair Macneill, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Sir Walter Scott tells the story of how a distinguished Scottish professor nearly became Little John to Scotland’s Robin Hood.
By Frank Reynolds (1876-1853), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Davy Copperfield is not pleased at having to compete for his mother’s affection with Edward Murdstone.
From the US Library of Congress, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Victorian England was agog at the prospect of Tom Sayers meeting a confident but unproven challenger from the USA.