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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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Classical History

Brought to their Knees

Agricola, tasked with subduing the people of Britain to Roman colonial government, persuaded them to wear servitude as a badge of refinement.

by Cornelius Tacitus ?56-?120

Stories in Short

The Story of ‘Oliver Twist’

Fate and a vicious professional thief named Fagin conspire to trap orphan Oliver Twist into a life of crime.

based on the novel by Charles Dickens 1812-1870

Greek and Roman Myths

Heracles and the Augean Stables

Heracles shows his capacity for thinking outside the box, but spoils it by trying to be just a little bit too clever.

Bible Stories Retold

The Story of Moses

Jochebed hides her baby son from Pharaoh’s soldiers, only for him to be discovered by Pharaoh’s daughter.

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Selected Authors

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John Buchan

False Unity

William Ewart Gladstone

An Exceptional Nation

Benjamin Franklin

How I Learnt to Write

Jane Austen

In Good Company

John Wesley

Wilberforce Contra Mundum

A. G. Gardiner

The Unknown Warrior

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Selected Topics

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Sport and Sportsmen

Stories from the world of cricket, football and other sports, and the men and women who have played them.

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Free Speech and Conscience

Passages defending the right and obligation of every citizen to judge whatever is good and true, and to talk back to those who govern him.

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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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Poets and Poetry

Passages from English verse, from Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf to Shakespeare’s sonnets, Tennyson’s Charge of the Light Brigade, Kipling’s If and many more.

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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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Myths and Legends

Stories of wisdom, wonder and imagination from the Fables of Aesop and the epics of Homer to the folklore of India, Japan, Russia and Britain.

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The Copy Book

Readings in history, society and literature

The Copy Book

Readings in history, society and literature