The Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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Clay Lane

The Copy Book

A Library of History and Literature in English

October 16 October 3 OS

The Copy Book is an ever-growing library of short passages from history and literature, intended for practice in paraphrase and précis or simply for reading pleasure. They include brief summaries and eyewitness accounts of major events in our national history, and extracts from fables, poetry, plays, novels, political speeches and biography. Many were included by NL Clay in his anthologies of ‘straightforward English’.

See Also Subjects Authors Years

Archive A-Z

What follows is an index to all 1557 posts in The Copy Book. You can keep up-to-date with new posts, and discover old posts you may have missed, with the Clay Lane Blog, where you will also find a selection of word games and exercises in grammar and composition.

The posts are currently listed in A-Z order. Use the buttons below to show the most recent posts first, or shuffle the list so you can find posts from right across the collection.

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1

Aaron’s Rod

The Victorian practice of hanging sugared nuts on a Christmas tree was bursting with Biblical symbolism.

2

Abba John and the Lost Guide

A guide loses his way on the edge of the merciless Egyptian desert, but Abba John is too kind-hearted to tell him.

3

The Abduction of Tarzan

John Clayton, a British colonial official lost in the African jungle, is caught unawares by Kerchak, the gorilla.

4

Abel Tasman in New Zealand

The Dutch explorer ran across two islands in the Pacific of which Europeans knew nothing, but his chief desire was to get past them.

5

Abraham Darby I

To the poor of England, the Worcestershire man gave affordable pots and pans, and to all the world he gave the industrial revolution.

6

The Absent Minded Conquerors

Sir John Seeley urged us to cherish our close ties to India and other nations beyond Europe.