Clay Lane › The Copy Book

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?

More …

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

Recently Added

See all

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

From the Archive

See all

Lives of the Saints

The Christmas Egg

Anglo-Saxon abbot Elfric tentatively likened the new-born Jesus to an egg.

by Elfric of Eynsham 955-1010

The First World War

The Battle of Jutland

Preventing the German fleet from breaking out into the Atlantic in 1916 should have felt like victory, but it felt like defeat.

Aesopica

Belling the Cat

A council of mice comes up with a plan to outsmart the Cat, but volunteers are a bit thin on the ground.

based on a fable by Odo of Cheriton ?1180-?1247

William Shakespeare

Poet and Poacher

Literary rumour in the time of Queen Anne said that William Shakespeare owed his extraordinary career to a scurrilous ballad.

by Nicholas Rowe 1674-1718

See All Posts (1522)

Selected Authors

See all

Jawaharlal Nehru

‘Tremblingly Obey!’

Edmund Burke

The Cradle of Our Race

William Cowper

The Nightingale and the Glow Worm

Ethel Smyth

Big Hitter

John Trenchard & Thomas Gibson

The Wisdom of the People

Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington

Trunk and Disorderly

See all Posts by Author

Selected Topics

See all

Abolition of Slavery

Heart-breaking tales of slavery, in which Britain played a shameful part; and heart-warming tales of Abolition, in which she played a courageous one.

See all (36)

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.

See all (51)

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.

See all (109)

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.

See all (27)

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.

See all (77)

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.

See all (23)

See All Topics (A-Z)

The Copy Book

Readings in history, society and literature

The Copy Book

Readings in history, society and literature