Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© Vogelfreund, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.
William Pitt the Elder berates Parliament for treating the public like know-nothings.
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© A. Savin, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
Marko adopts drastic measures to get out of repaying the loan of a penny.
© Tiia Monto, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.
A survivor of the infamous massacre of Chios in 1821 goes to Marseilles, but discovers he has not entirely left the Turks behind.
© Fabio Straniero, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
The Victorian practice of hanging sugared nuts on a Christmas tree was bursting with Biblical symbolism.
From Wikimedia Commons. Public domain image.
Henry VII’s great-granddaughter Mary never grasped that even royalty must win the people’s respect.
From Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
The martyr St Euphemia played a vital role in preventing the message of Christmas from being watered down.