The Copybook

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

1111

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

Joseph and the Land of Promise Clay Lane

Jacob takes his whole family to join Joseph in Egypt, but God promises him that one day they will return to Canaan.

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1112

By Rosser1954 (Roger Griffith), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Dr Johnson and the Critic’s Ambush James Boswell

A literary man tries to trick Samuel Johnson into an honest opinion, which was neither necessary nor very rewarding.

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1113

© San Kukai, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

A Solemn Duty Ann Radcliffe

Monsieur St Aubert falls seriously ill on a walking tour with his daughter Emily, and before the end asks an unexpected favour.

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1114

© Jonathan Billinger, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

The Economic Case for Sovereignty Adam Smith

A nation with its own laws and a strong sense of shared cultural identity makes good economic sense.

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1115

By Domenico Angelo (?1717-1802), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Fairly Honest Lawyer Rafael Sabatini

Andre-Louis Moreau lives for vengeance on the master swordsman who killed his friend.

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1116

Anonymous, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

‘The Overland Mail’ Rudyard Kipling

A tribute to the postal workers of British India, and to the kind of empire they helped to build.

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