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Passages for reading. Read them out aloud. Paraphrase or précis them. Discuss them with friends. Does anything surprise or impress you? How does the author work your feelings? Would you use his words? How would you direct the scene in a movie — and who would your stars be?

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On This Day

Sunday September 8 ns August 26 os

For Church feasts falling on September 8 in the New Style calendar, see The Feast of Nativity of the Virgin Mary and Finding of the Kursk icon.

August 26, 1395 os

Meeting of the ‘Vladimir’ Icon (1)

The Theotokos of Vladimir

It is one of the world’s most recognisable works of art, and a symbol of God’s blessing on all Christian Rus’.

September 8, 1380

The Battle of Kulikovo (1)

Dmitri of the Don

Grand Duke Dmitri of Moscow loosened the grip of the Tartar Horde on the people of Russia, but treachery robbed him of triumph.

by Lucy Cazalet 1870-1956

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International Relations

A Credit to His Country

The diplomat’s task is to see the best in other peoples, not to scold them for their failings.

by François de Callières 1645-1717

Lives of the Saints

The Synod of Whitby

In 664, a council at Whitby decided to align the traditions of the Northumbrian Church with those of Rome and Constantinople.

by John Richard Green 1837-1883

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Norman Era

Welcome to Micklegarth

After the Norman Conquest, thousands of disappointed Englishmen departed for a new life in the Byzantine world.

by Orderic Vitalis 1075-?1142

Greek and Roman Myths

Heracles and the Hydra

The Greek hero thinks he has paid off more of his debt to the gods, but an unpleasant surprise awaits him.

Abolition of Slavery

Master and Slave

A runaway slave is recaptured, and charged with ingratitude by the master who has taken such pains to afford him economic security.

by John Aikin 1747-1822 and Anna Laetitia Barbauld 1743-1825

Poets and Poetry

Six Honest Serving-Men

A professional journalist and author recognises that he has met his match

by Rudyard Kipling 1865-1936

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Selected Authors

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Robert Louis Stevenson

By the Toss of a Coin

John Evelyn

The Return of King Charles II

Joseph Addison

Lover’s Leap

Karl Philipp Moritz

Three Criminal Types

A. A. Milne

A Chess Problem

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Christmas Bells

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Selected Topics

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Poets and Poetry

Passages from English verse, from Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf to Shakespeare’s sonnets, Tennyson’s Charge of the Light Brigade, Kipling’s If and many more.

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Abolition of Slavery

Heart-breaking tales of slavery, in which Britain played a shameful part; and heart-warming tales of Abolition, in which she played a courageous one.

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Animal Stories

Fables and true tales about animals, including a dog who regularly commuted to Matlock, a horse who didn’t approve of bad language, and a cat who saved her owners from an earthquake.

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The USA

Tales from our cousins to the West, telling of their independence from Britain, their bloody civil war, and their runaway prosperity — and the slender thread by which it hangs.

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Greece

Tales about the cradle of Western civilisation, from Socrates and the first democracies to the fall of the Roman Empire, the Ottoman yoke, and Britain’s part in the fight for independence.

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International Relations

Britain has always demanded respect, open seas, and to be left in peace to ‘work out our own salvation’ — a courtesy we should extend to others.

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The Copy Book

Readings in history, society and literature

The Copy Book

Readings in history, society and literature