A little anecdote about a schoolmaster who wasn’t as much of a Wackford Squeers as he appeared to be.
byAnonymous
Extracts from Poetry
Mary’s Lamb
A much-loved children’s poem, even if most of us struggle to remember more than a few lines.
bySarah Josepha Hale1788-1879
Charles Dickens
Rochester Reverie
Mr Pickwick has embarked on a tour of Kent, and this sunny morning finds him leaning over the parapet of Rochester Bridge, deep in reflection.
byCharles Dickens1812-1870
Extracts from Fiction
The Selfishness of Mr Willoughby
Now that Mr Willoughby has been found, and found to be married, Elinor Dashwood has the disagreeable task of making sure that her sister feels it is all for the best.
byJane Austen1775-1817
Extracts from Poetry
Pater’s Bathe
A charming children’s rhyme that is also a test of the clearest speaker’s diction.
bySir Edward Abbott Parry1863-1943
Extracts from Literature
Fricassée in France
In the opening lines of Laurence Sterne’s Sentimental Journey, the narrator explains the perverse whim that led him to leave his home shores behind.
