Clay Lane

The Copy Book

A Library of History and Literature in English

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1537

The Persistence of Thomas Clarkson

Today, the slave trade is a £150bn global business. Back in the late 18th century, it was making a lot of influential people very rich too, but some in England were determined to stop it.

1538

Richard Arkwright

Arkwright invented the factory, without which modern life would be impossible.

1539

The Sacred Snakes of Kefalonia

Once a year, regular as clockwork, the little snakes slither into the convent for a Feast of the Virgin Mary.

1540

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

A gifted composer of classical music in the romantic tradition, admired by Stanford, Elgar, and Sullivan.

1541

The Science of Salix

Edward Stone wondered if the willow tree might have more in common with the Peruvian cinchona tree than just its damp habitat.

1542

The Seikilos Epitaph

Lost for seventeen centuries, caught up in a war, and used as a pedestal for a plant pot, this is the world’s oldest surviving song.