The Copybook

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

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1513

© ceridwen, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Jemima Fawr and the Last Invasion of Britain by Clay Lane

French revolutionaries in a fleet of four ships attempted to spark a revolution in Britain.

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1514

© Matt Riggott, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

The Return of Plum Pudding by Clay Lane

The Puritans said it was unfit for God-fearing men, but George I thought it fit for a King.

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1515

© Sara Guasteví, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.

John Playford by Clay Lane

In England’s brief but dismal experiment as a Republic, Playford saved traditional English dance music from destruction.

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1516

© Vitum, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Miracle of St John of the Caves by Clay Lane

The story of an unexpected escape through the heart of a hill.

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1517

From Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Season of Goodwill by Clay Lane

‘Goodwill’ was on everyone’s lips, but the Roman Emperor and the God of Israel had very different ideas about it.

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1518
The Disaster of the White Ship by Clay Lane

The loss of the heir to the throne threw England into crisis.

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© 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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