The Copy Book
Readings in history, society and literature
The Copy Book
Readings in history, society and literature
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?
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.
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Selected Topics
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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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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Character and Conduct
Stories illustrating noble deeds in matters both great and small, such as the noble gesture of Sir Philip Sidney, and the determination of Benjamin Disraeli.
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Music and Musicians
The artistic struggles and triumphs of composers from the British Isles and abroad, many in their own words — and accompanied by their music.
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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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