Clay Lane › The Copy Book

Passages for reading. Read them out aloud. Paraphrase or précis them. Discuss them with friends. Does anything surprise or impress you? How does the author work your feelings? Would you use his words? How would you direct the scene in a movie — and who would your stars be?

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On This Day

Sunday September 8 ns August 26 os

For Church feasts falling on September 8 in the New Style calendar, see The Feast of Nativity of the Virgin Mary and Finding of the Kursk icon.

August 26, 1395 os

Meeting of the ‘Vladimir’ Icon (1)

The Theotokos of Vladimir

It is one of the world’s most recognisable works of art, and a symbol of God’s blessing on all Christian Rus’.

September 8, 1380

The Battle of Kulikovo (1)

Dmitri of the Don

Grand Duke Dmitri of Moscow loosened the grip of the Tartar Horde on the people of Russia, but treachery robbed him of triumph.

by Lucy Cazalet 1870-1956

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International Relations

A Credit to His Country

The diplomat’s task is to see the best in other peoples, not to scold them for their failings.

by François de Callières 1645-1717

Lives of the Saints

The Synod of Whitby

In 664, a council at Whitby decided to align the traditions of the Northumbrian Church with those of Rome and Constantinople.

by John Richard Green 1837-1883

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Mediaeval History

One Hand on the Throne

The Wars of the Roses pitted two royal houses against each other for the crown of England.

based on an account by Charles Dickens 1812-1870

Poets and Poetry

The Gods of the Copybook Headings

After the devastation of the Great War, calls rose for a new economic and social system, and to put the wisdom of our forebears behind us.

by Rudyard Kipling 1865-1936

George Stephenson

The Grand Mechanic

The more that pioneering engineer George Stephenson understood of the world around him, the more his sense of wonder grew.

by Samuel Smiles 1812-1904

Music and Musicians

Mozart’s Genius

An amateur composer once asked Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart how he thought of his lovely music and — for one performance only — the maestro told him.

by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756-1791

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Selected Authors

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Mark Twain

Discovery!

Edmund Burke

My Standard of a Statesman

John Evelyn

The Return of King Charles II

Frederick Douglass

A Selfish Liberty

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Start of a Beautiful Friendship

William Cowper

The Jackdaw

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Selected Topics

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Greece

Tales about the cradle of Western civilisation, from Socrates and the first democracies to the fall of the Roman Empire, the Ottoman yoke, and Britain’s part in the fight for independence.

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Animal Stories

Fables and true tales about animals, including a dog who regularly commuted to Matlock, a horse who didn’t approve of bad language, and a cat who saved her owners from an earthquake.

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France

Stories about our friends across the Channel, from Roman times to the Hundred Years’ War, her bloody Revolution, and the giddying rise and fall of Emperor Napoleon.

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International Relations

Britain has always demanded respect, open seas, and to be left in peace to ‘work out our own salvation’ — a courtesy we should extend to others.

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Liberty and Prosperity

Stories from Britain and elsewhere confirming the social and economic benefits of keeping Governments and their cronies out of the trade and business of ordinary people.

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Abolition of Slavery

Heart-breaking tales of slavery, in which Britain played a shameful part; and heart-warming tales of Abolition, in which she played a courageous one.

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The Copy Book

Readings in history, society and literature

The Copy Book

Readings in history, society and literature