Clay Lane

The Copy Book

A Library of History and Literature in English

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253

The Shimabara Rebellion

Forty thousand men, women and children, the last survivors of Japans’s persecuted Christian population, took refuge without earthly hope in a seaside castle.

254

The Vast Depths of Infinity

Thomas Wright offers his readers a way of thinking about the enormous distances involved in any description of the solar system.

255

Written in the Skies

Though some other sciences may seem to destroy it, astronomy restores a sense of religious awe.

256

A Surfeit of Lampreys

Augustus, the Roman Emperor, invited himself to dine at the luxury Naples villa of Publius Vedius Pollio, but a broken goblet thoroughly spoilt the evening.

257

A Rush to Judgment

As a young man, surveyor Thomas Telford was a red-hot political activist who yearned for revolution, but admittedly he had read just one book on the matter.

258

‘We are Free Men of Novgorod’

The politicians of Novgorod, angry at Moscow’s interference, thought they would teach her a lesson by selling out to Poland.