The Copybook

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

739

By JMW Turner (1775-1851), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Zong Massacre

After a hundred and forty-two slaves were tossed overboard in an insurance scam, Granville Sharp wouldn’t let the matter rest.

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740

© 0x010C, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 4.0.

An Ever-Fixed Mark William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare in sombre mood clings to love as the only changeless thing in a world of decay.

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741

© Ad Meskens, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.

A Cavalier Attitude William King

Royalist soldier Sir Jacob Ashly exemplified a Christian gentleman in the heat of battle.

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742

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

The Good Reign of Bad King John Thomas Babington Macaulay

Lord Macaulay believed that the disastrous reign of King John brought the country together.

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743

© Victuallers, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Spider and the King Sir Walter Scott

Sir Walter Scott tells of the tale of how a little spider inspired Robert the Bruce to win his country’s sovereignty.

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744

© Carole Raddato, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0 Generic.

‘They Make a Desert and Call it Peace’ D. H. Montgomery

After the kingdoms of Great Britain were absorbed into the Roman Empire, the promises of prosperity and civilisation came only to a favoured few.

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