The Copybook

Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.

1549

© Harland Quarrington, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Open Government Licence 1.0.

John to Henry IV by Clay Lane

A quick overview of the Kings of England from John in 1199 to Henry IV in 1399.

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1550

By Josiah Wedgwood (1730–1795), via Wikimedia Commons. CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Fashionable Freedom by Thomas Clarkson

Josiah Wedgwood’s promotional gift made Abolitionism fashionable.

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1551

© Derek Voller, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Mrs Clements by Clay Lane

Mrs Clements of Durham is not a household name, but the product she invented is.

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1552

© JThomas, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Richard Arkwright by Clay Lane

Arkwright invented the factory, without which modern life would be impossible.

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1553

© Derek Harper, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

The Story of ‘Oliver Twist’ by Clay Lane

Fate and a vicious professional thief named Fagin conspire to trap orphan Oliver Twist into a life of crime.

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1554

© RonitGutman, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.

The Birds by Clay Lane

Two men fed up with Athenian politics decide to build a city in the sky.

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Clay Lane The Copybook
About Clay Lane nicholas@claylane.uk

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

April 30 NS

April 17 OS

Two Letters Home : A German soldier stopped the Great War so he could ask Captain Hulse to post a letter for him.
Smile : Choose adjectives of praise for these nouns, at about the 7/10 level.
The Making of Mark : St Mark wrote his Gospel as a summary of the preaching of St Peter.
Zheng He and the Rise of Malacca : Malacca became a refuge from the overbearing empires of the Far East, thanks to a celebrated Chinese admiral.
Confusables : Compose sentences to bring out the similarities and differences between these words.
Jill and I : Include yourself in these sentences about Jill.
Saddled : Use these words in sentences, and see if you can use one of them as a verb.
Russia’s Heroic Stand : In 1941, with much of the West subdued, Adolf Hitler bent the full force of his hatred on Moscow.
Approachable : Replace the verb ‘can’ with these alternatives, and explain how the meaning of the sentence has changed.
The First Easter : In a translation from the Authorized Version of the Bible, published in 1611, St Mark recounts the discovery of Christ’s empty tomb.
A Collect for Easter Day : A short prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, for the day of Christ’s resurrection.
The Gambler : Which well-known expression is Dr Johnson talking about here?
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