The Copybook

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

1273

© Richard Crowest Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.

Triumph in Adversity Samuel Smiles

Two famous figures, one from the sciences and one from the arts, who turned suffering to advantage.

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1274

© Roger Kidd, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

Straightforward English NL Clay

If freedom and democracy are to have any meaning, the public must be able to talk back to their governors.

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1275

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

The Unselfishess of Free Trade Richard Cobden

Victorian MP Richard Cobden pleaded for Britain to set the world an example as a nation open for business.

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1276

© Kate Jewell, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Violet van der Elst

An eccentric, self-made businesswoman, who ‘made three fortunes and spent five’ in the campaign against the death penalty.

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1277

© Adrian Platt, Geogaph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

The White Queen’s Riddle Lewis Carroll

Alice was set a poetical test of wits by the kindly (but like all the other characters, utterly maddening) White Queen.

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1278

From the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Story of Esther Clay Lane

A young Jewish girl is chosen as the Queen of Persia, but quickly finds she has enemies.

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