Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© York Museums Trust, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Soon after Athelstan became England’s first king, he played a trick on the King of Norway which demanded a reply.
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© Buchhändler, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
Samuel Smiles warns us against pursuing popularity for its own sake, saying that it is a kind of cowardice.
© Len Williams, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
William Cobbett recalls his first taste of classic literature, for which he had to go without his supper.
Photo by Adam Carr, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
John Wesley wrote to a young William Wilberforce to encourage him in his campaign against the slave trade.
From the East Riding Archives, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: No known copyright restrictions.
An irate coal merchant squares up to the oh-so-righteous gentleman who didn’t like the way he was treating his horse.
© Stormy Clouds, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 4.0.
Economist Adam Smith so changed the conversation in Britain that most people take his groundbreaking insights for granted.