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Passages for reading. Read them out aloud. Paraphrase or précis them. Discuss them with friends. Does anything surprise or impress you? How does the author work your feelings? Would you use his words? How would you direct the scene in a movie — and who would your stars be?

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On This Day

Sunday September 8 ns August 26 os

For Church feasts falling on September 8 in the New Style calendar, see The Feast of Nativity of the Virgin Mary and Finding of the Kursk icon.

August 26, 1395 os

Meeting of the ‘Vladimir’ Icon (1)

The Theotokos of Vladimir

It is one of the world’s most recognisable works of art, and a symbol of God’s blessing on all Christian Rus’.

September 8, 1380

The Battle of Kulikovo (1)

Dmitri of the Don

Grand Duke Dmitri of Moscow loosened the grip of the Tartar Horde on the people of Russia, but treachery robbed him of triumph.

by Lucy Cazalet 1870-1956

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International Relations

A Credit to His Country

The diplomat’s task is to see the best in other peoples, not to scold them for their failings.

by François de Callières 1645-1717

Lives of the Saints

The Synod of Whitby

In 664, a council at Whitby decided to align the traditions of the Northumbrian Church with those of Rome and Constantinople.

by John Richard Green 1837-1883

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Publius Virgilius Maro

‘Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts’

After spending years besieging the city of Troy, the Greek armies suddenly decamp, leaving behind only an enormous wooden sculpture of a horse.

by Publius Vergilius Maro

The Second World War

Britain’s Destiny

In a Christmas broadcast in 1940, actor Leslie Howard explained why British sovereignty was worth fighting for.

by Leslie Howard 1893-1943

Indian Myths

Peasie and Beansie

Peasie wants to visit her lonely father, but she can’t get her sister Beansie to come along with her.

Extracts from Literature

One Last Question

English lawyer Sydney Carton goes to the guillotine in place of a French aristocrat.

by Charles Dickens 1812-1870

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Selected Authors

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Edmund Burke

A Pledge to the People

William Cowper

The Nightingale and the Glow Worm

John Evelyn

‘London Was, but Is No More!’

Ethel Smyth

Chopsticks

Jane Austen

With the Compliments of Mr Collins

Sir Hubert Parry

Youth and Age

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Selected Topics

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International Relations

Britain has always demanded respect, open seas, and to be left in peace to ‘work out our own salvation’ — a courtesy we should extend to others.

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Animal Stories

Fables and true tales about animals, including a dog who regularly commuted to Matlock, a horse who didn’t approve of bad language, and a cat who saved her owners from an earthquake.

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Poets and Poetry

Passages from English verse, from Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf to Shakespeare’s sonnets, Tennyson’s Charge of the Light Brigade, Kipling’s If and many more.

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The USA

Tales from our cousins to the West, telling of their independence from Britain, their bloody civil war, and their runaway prosperity — and the slender thread by which it hangs.

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Classical History

Tales of tragedy, ambition and heroism from the Battle of Marathon and Hannibal’s passage of the Alps to Caesar’s fateful crossing of the Rubicon.

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Discovery and Invention

Tales of scientific innovation and merchant enterprise, from steam power and life-saving medicines to new trade partners far away, and new ways to reach them.

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The Copy Book

Readings in history, society and literature

The Copy Book

Readings in history, society and literature