Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© Humphrey Bolton, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
The Report of the Newcastle Commission confirmed that there were no Dotheboys Halls among Yorkshire’s private schools.
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© David wright, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Mrs Squeers has lost the school spoon, and is uncomfortably frank about its importance.
By James Gillray (1756-1815), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson saw the demand for hard evidence as a peculiarly English trait.
© Stephen Richards, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Richard Hannay was finding life in London a little slow until a self-confessed dead man walked into his rooms.
© Olnnu, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
The hero of Waterloo needed all his men to believe in him that day, but none believed in him more than his cook.
© Alessandro57, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
An obscure officer in the Roman Army gains a dizzying promotion after performing a simple act of kindness.