The Copybook

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

895

Morgan Library & Museum, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Wooing of Olaf Tryggvason Snorro Sturluson

An aristocratic widow advertises for a husband, and among the line-up of natty and noble suitors is a rough-and-ready Olaf Tryggvason.

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896

Anonymous photo circa 1870, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

A Man Called Mouse Clay Lane

In an enduring fable from the Kathasaritsagara, an Indian merchant explains how he acquired his nickname.

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897

By Raja Ravi Varma (1848–1906), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Shakuntala and the Lost Ring Clay Lane

The lovely Shakuntala is wooed by a great King, but almost at once he forgets her.

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898

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

A Personal Favour Clay Lane

Over a hundred young Greeks were slated to be shot after resistance fighters and British forces sabotaged an airfield.

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899

From the Walters Art Museum, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

A Tale of Three Rivers William H. Sleeman

The Rivers Son and Narmada rise together in the hills of Amarkantak, but because of Johilla they never meet again.

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900

By John Constable (1776-1837), via Tate Britain and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

A Woman of Spirit Anne Brontë

Alice was given a choice between her carriage and lady’s maid on the one hand, and Richard Grey on the other.

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