The Copybook

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

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1273

From Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Boer Wars by Clay Lane

South African settlers of Dutch descent could not escape the march of the British Empire.

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1274

From Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Our Lady’s Mantle by Clay Lane

Shortly after Askold and Dir founded Kiev in 862, they launched a brazen but ill-fated assault on the capital of the Roman Empire.

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1275

© Michael E. Cumpston, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Duel by Charles Dickens

Sir Mulberry Hawk’s coarse conduct towards Kate Nickleby has awoken a spark of decency in Lord Frederick Verisopht.

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1276

© Tony Esopi, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.

Heracles and the Augean Stables by Clay Lane

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

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1277

By Konstantin Korovin (1861-1939), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Merchants of Muscovy by Clay Lane

In 1553, Richard Chancellor set out on a perilous voyage to Russia in order to bypass the Hanseatic League’s customs union.

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1278

© Гондарева Илга (Ilga Gondareva), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.

Not a Scratch! by Clay Lane

Hapless extremists try to wipe out a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary.

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Clay Lane The Copybook
About Clay Lane nicholas@claylane.uk

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

May 9 NS

April 26 OS

A Gallant Attempt for the Crown : Only months after kidnapping the Duke of Ormond, Irish radical Thomas Blood was at it again, this time attempting to steal the Crown Jewels.
Russia’s Heroic Stand : In 1941, with much of the West subdued, Adolf Hitler bent the full force of his hatred on Moscow.
A Thousand Commas : Assess the punctuation of this sentence, according to the author’s own principles.
Batter My Heart : John Donne gives God a free hand to do whatever needs to be done.
Window Seat : Describe the view from one of the following vantage points.
Repeat Offender :
In Two Minds : Join these ideas together to a form a single sentence, in at least two different ways.
The First Traffic Lights : The busy crossroads outside the Houses of Parliament was the testing ground for a new technology.
Good Companions : Explain what these wise classical authors are telling us.
The Rule of the Road : Being a free citizen doesn’t mean that everyone else has to get out of your way.
Blind Courage : George Santayana reprimanded politicians and military men who thought war was good for the country’s soul.
Patience : Make a single sentence out of these three ideas.
The Angel Cried : A hymn sung in the weeks after Easter, imagining how Gabriel brought the news of Christ’s resurrection to Mary.
She was a Phantom of Delight : Mary Wordsworth wasn’t pretty or bookish, but she was kind and vital, and William loved her.
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