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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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Scottish History

A Parliament for Scotland

Self-confessed Scottish Nationalist John Buchan warned Scots that there was more to democratic prosperity than having a Parliament.

by John Buchan 1875-1940

Lives of the Saints

The Thrice-Holy Hymn

When the capital of the Roman Empire was in the grip of a violent earthquake, it fell to one small child to save all the people.

by St John Damascene ?636-749

Liberty and Prosperity

War is Such a Taxing Business

Sydney Smith warned ordinary Americans that encouraging the hawks in Washington would cost them more than blood.

by Sydney Smith 1771-1845

The British Constitution

The Best and Worst of Britain

A Portuguese merchant assesses Great Britain’s market under the Hanoverians.

attributed to Manoel Gonzales c. 1730

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Selected Authors

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Ethel Smyth

Big Hitter

Laurence Sterne

Fricassée in France

Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington

Trunk and Disorderly

William Shakespeare

‘This England’

Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Liberty-Lovers

W. Somerset Maugham

The Lessons of Empire

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Selected Topics

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Railways

Stories about the British transport revolution that changed the world, from the first locomotive and the first whistle to Flying Scotsman.

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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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Free Speech and Conscience

Passages defending the right and obligation of every citizen to judge whatever is good and true, and to talk back to those who govern him.

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Russia

Stories from our cousins in the East, from Rurik the Viking and the Baptism of Rus’ to trade with Ivan the Terrible, a visit from Peter the Great, and the last Emperor.

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France

Stories about our friends across the Channel, from Roman times to the Hundred Years’ War, her bloody Revolution, and the giddying rise and fall of Emperor Napoleon.

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Extracts from Fiction

Romance, adventure and comedy from the very best fiction writers, including Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, Charles Dickens, John Buchan, and many more.

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The Copy Book

Readings in history, society and literature

The Copy Book

Readings in history, society and literature