The Copybook

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

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By Barbara Krafft (1764–1825), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

‘Let’s Be a Comfortable Couple’ Charles Dickens

The offices of the Cheeryble Brothers are humming with excitement over two upcoming weddings, and Tim Linkinwater finds the mood is catching.

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By Harold Copping (1863-1932), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

‘Come in and Know Me Better’ Clay Lane

Mill owner William Grant was deeply hurt by a scurrilous pamphlet circulated by a fellow businessman, and vowed the miscreant would live to regret it.

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651

From the John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Iron Seamstress William Blanchard Jerrold

William Jerrold saw the new-fangled sewing machine as an opportunity to get women into the professions — but time was of the essence.

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By James Whittle and James Laurie (1812), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

A Literary Mystery Margaret Sprague Carhart

In 1798, ‘Plays on the Passions’ appeared in London bookstores, but no one seemed to know who had written them.

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653

© Simon Speed, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Adjudicator Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor recalls his experiences as a judge in the distrustful world of music festivals and brass band contests.

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© Andy Stevenson, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

Hector’s Cloak George Carleton

When the Rising of the North went all wrong in 1569, rebel leader Thomas Percy turned to trusted ally Hector of Harlaw for help.

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