The Copybook: Readings in history and literature

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‘The Empire is Peace!’ by Guy de Maupassant

Guy de Maupassant reflects on the way that a statesman’s place in history has so often been defined not by deeds or character but by his one-liners.

1

Tree of Life by Edith Louise Marsh

Jacques Cartier made history and made friends along the St Lawrence, but then threw all that goodwill away.

2

The Oath of Harold Godwinson by Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall

William the Conqueror’s chaplain used to tell this story to those who doubted his master’s claim to the English crown.

3

Émilie’s Plan by Antoine Marie Chamans, Comte de Lavalette

The night before the Comte de Lavalette was to be executed, his wife Émilie came to visit him with a proposal that left him speechless.

4

The Best Laid Plans by Victor Duruy

Louis XIV picked up the reins of power in France vowing to drive the national economy in the common interest, not his own.

5

The Prisoner from Provence by Tighe Hopkins

When Saint-Mars arrived to take over as warden of the Bastille in 1698, staff at Paris’s most famous prison had eyes only for his prisoner.

6

Politics and the Pulpit by Edmund Burke

Edmund Burke begged the clergy of England to give us all a break from the twenty-four-hour news cycle.

French History