Clay Lane

Posts in The Copybook credited to ‘Clay Lane’

175
The War of the Spanish Succession Clay Lane

After Louis XIV’s grandson Philip inherited the throne of Spain, the ‘Sun King’ began to entertain dreams of Europe-wide dominion.

The War of the Spanish Succession dragged on from 1702 to 1713, as the states of Europe scrambled to prevent France acquiring control not only over Spain but over territories and trade from Italy to the Netherlands. Indeed, the ‘Sun King’ Louis XIV tried to add England to his bag, which proved to be a serious mistake.

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176
The Voice of an Angel Clay Lane

A tenth-century Greek monk is joined by a total stranger for Mattins.

In the days of St Dunstan (r. 959-988), Archbishop of Canterbury to King Ethelred the Unready, over in Greece an otherwise comfortably obscure fellow monk – we still do not know his name – was entertaining a guest of even greater royalty.

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177
Ode to English Joy Clay Lane

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony was commissioned by a fiercely independent Britain, and Beethoven was excited to oblige.

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is today associated with the European Union, something of an irony as Beethoven loudly cheered on Britain’s resistance to Napoleon Bonaparte’s dreams of a Europe-wide superstate. Indeed, the Symphony itself arose out of a commission from friends in London in 1817, just two years after Waterloo.

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178
Anne Ford Thicknesse Clay Lane

A young English girl in Dr Johnson’s London struggles to share her gift for music.

The story of Anne Ford (1737-1824) is an inspirational tale of determination, which shows two contrasting sides to Georgian England, and reminds us once again that Britain made rapid social progress without the violence seen on the near Continent.

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179
Much Ado About Nothing Clay Lane

Don Pedro’s brother John tries to ensure that the course of true love does not run smooth.

‘Much Ado About Nothing’ is William Shakespeare’s enduring comedy of love, imposture and high society, written in 1598 or the following year. The topsy-turvy plot (of which what follows can only be a glimpse) is full of gossipy wit, but it deals with a serious subject: a lady’s reputation.

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180
Lambert Simnel Clay Lane

Henry VII must decide how to deal with a boy calling himself ‘King Edward VI’.

Ever since 1455, the Royal dynasties of Lancaster and York had been vying for the crown in the ‘Wars of the Roses’. Then in 1485, Welsh outsider Henry Tudor (Lancaster) defeated King Richard III (York) at Bosworth near Leicester, and set himself to draw a line under thirty years of strife.

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