The Copybook

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

1387

From Wikimedia Commons. Public domain image.

The Nine-Day Queen Clay Lane

Lady Jane Grey’s accession was almost instantly overturned.

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1388

From Wikimedia Commons.

The Bombardment of Algiers Clay Lane

For two centuries, human traffickers had stolen English men, women and children for the slave-markets of the Arab world.

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1389

© Geoff Harris, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

A Farewell Charles Kingsley

A last goodbye breathes promise of a merry meeting.

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1390

© Yvonne Solomon, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Rainbow William Wordsworth

God’s covenant of love is a fresh joy every time it appears.

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1391

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

St Bede of Wearmouth and Jarrow Clay Lane

The mild-mannered, artistic monk was nevertheless a founding father of the English nation.

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1392

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

The Langbaurgh Charter Clay Lane

Peter de Brus and his tenants agreed to work together after King John ordered a crackdown on unpaid rents.

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