Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
The loss of the heir to the throne threw England into crisis.
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© Christopher Brown, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
A Victorian children’s book inspired the birth of modern electronics.
© Peter Smith, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
Alfred Bird’s wife could eat neither eggs nor yeast. So being a Victorian, Alfred put his thinking-cap on.
© John Sievert, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.
An excited English gentleman hires a ship for a treasure-hunt, but doesn’t check his crew’s credentials.
© Colin Smith, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
How hard-pressed Christians on the Welsh border won a battle without bloodshed.
© Jeff Buck, Geograph. Licence CC-BY-SA 2.0.
King Harold died at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Or did he?