The Copybook

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

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KJV Bible

1537

Wikimedia Commons. Public domain image.

The Calendar ‘English Style’ by Clay Lane

An English monk warned of a flaw in the world’s most widely-used calendar.

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1538

© PHParsons, Wikimedia Commons. CC-BY-SA 3.0 Licence.

The Character of Cecil Rhodes by Basil Williams

The ruthless diamond magnate and Prime Minister of the Cape divided opinion in his own lifetime as he still does today.

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1539

© xlandfair, Wikimedia Commons. Public domain image.

The Anglo-Zanzibar War by Clay Lane

It lasted barely forty minutes, but it brought slavery to an end in the little island territory.

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1540

By George W. Joy (1844-1925), via Wikimedia Commons.

The Siege of Khartoum by Clay Lane

General Gordon’s death was a sensation and a scandal in its day.

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1541

© David Dixon, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Gunpowder, Treason and Plot by Clay Lane

Only an anonymous tip-off prevented England losing her sovereignty as well as her King.

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1542

© Colin Smith, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

The Tide of Popularity by Jane Austen

First impressions prove to be quite misleading in the case of handsome, disagreeable Mr Darcy.

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Clay Lane The Copybook
About Clay Lane nicholas@claylane.uk

© 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.
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.
Hardly : Tone down these bold assertions with ‘hardly’.
The Death of Julius Caesar : When Julius Caesar entered the Senate that day, a note warning him of treachery was clutched in his hand — unread.
Two Letters Home : A German soldier stopped the Great War so he could ask Captain Hulse to post a letter for him.
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