The Copybook

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

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KJV Bible

1219

Via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Tragedy of King Oedipus by Clay Lane

Oedipus flees home in an attempt to escape a dreadful prophecy, unware that it is following at his heels.

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1220

Photo by Свято-Троицкий собор, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

St Ahmed by Clay Lane

A Turkish official was itching to know the secret behind a Russian slave girl’s personal charm.

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1221

From the Imperial War Museums Collection, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

‘Recessional’ by Rudyard Kipling

A heartfelt plea for humility at the height of Britain’s Empire.

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1222

© Georgi.petrov66, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Nightingale and the Glow Worm by William Cowper

A kind of Aesop’s Fable in verse, about mutual respect among those with different talents.

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1223

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

King Solomon’s Mines by Clay Lane

Allan Quartermain goes in search of a lost tourist and a legendary hoard of diamonds.

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1224

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

Redeemed for Five Shillings by Elfric of Eynsham

Elfric, the tenth-century English abbot, suggests a practical way of thinking about the Presentation of Christ in the Temple.

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© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

May 22 NS

May 9 OS

The Wars of the Roses : A struggle between rival Royal Houses begins in 1455, after questions are raised about King Henry VI’s capacity to rule.
Pirate : For each of these words, suggest others that seem to go with it, and use them to bring a scene to life.
Tilting at Windmills : Don Quixote seizes his chance to capture a giant for his lady-love, Dulcinea.
Kim’s Game : Test your memory with this mental agility game from the pages of Rudyard Kipling.
A Mechanical Miracle : The father of computing believed his machine held the key to some of life’s greatest mysteries.
Essential Nouns : Suggest nouns of essence, such as leadership or supremacy.
The Follies of Youth : RL Stevenson was of the opinion that wrongthink was better than groupthink.
Thick and Thin : Express each of these ideas as a single word.
Break : Explain what each of these common expressions means, and give examples.
Blind Guide : William Wirt recalls an overpowering sermon from a blind man in a little wooden chapel.
It’s All in the Delivery : Aeschines paid tribute to the oratory of his greatest rival — whether he meant to or not.
The Road to Ruin : George Berkeley warned that industry, not financial speculation, was the guarantee of a nation’s wealth.
Signs of Command : Suggest publicly-displayed commands, and say how many of them are sentences.
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