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 11 September 28 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

On This Day

October 11 ns

September 28 os

We keep civil anniversaries on the New Style date, and Church events on the Old Style. See About our calendars.

October 11 ns

The Second Boer War begins (1899) 1 post

The Boer Wars

South African settlers of Dutch descent could not escape the march of the British Empire.

September 28 os

The Feast of St Wenceslaus (AD 935) 1 post

Wenceslaus: A Life for a Life

By Divine providence, the shocking murder of Good King Wenceslas led to a flowering of Christian faith in Europe.

Archive

What follows is an index to all 1554 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 random order. Use the buttons below to sort the posts alphabetically, or to show the most recent additions first. You can also shuffle again.

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1

Empire Day

American historian David Montgomery explains why Britain’s Empire Day really was a cause for celebration.

2

Justice and Equity

After the East India Company quieted the Maratha Confederacy in 1805, Harsukh Rai looked forward to a new era of good government.

3

The Glow Worm and the Jackdaw

In this fable from India, a sly little insect teaches a jackdaw that all that glisters is not necessarily edible.

4

The Trials of Alexander Nevsky

Lucy Cazalet gives an overview of the remarkable Russian ruler, who showed the courage of a prince and the humility of a saint.

5

Imagine

Educational reformer Emily Davies argued that Victorian women had more to offer society than a purely ornamental erudition.

6

Jibe and Joke

Sir Richard Steele takes up arms against the kind of wit who thinks you can be as nasty as you like provided you make people laugh.