Minis
Mini Copy Book

Each post in this section is a short précis (summary) of a passage in The Copy Book. All of them are in modern English. They are intended for students of English as a Foreign Language at Elementary Level.

Sir Stamford Raffles

Raffles and the Reprieve of Malacca

The busy trading hub of Malacca was to be consigned to history, until Stamford Raffles saw that history was one of its assets.

Length: 114 words

Lives of the Saints

Image of Joy

In 1274, the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople signed a historic reunion, but there were some formidable dissenters.

Length: 115 words

Scandinavian History

The Wooing of Olaf Tryggvason

An aristocratic widow advertises for a husband, and among the line-up of natty and noble suitors is a rough-and-ready Olaf Tryggvason.

Length: 111 words

Lives of the Saints

Dear Elizabeth

Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna was a grand-daughter of Queen Victoria, but to one ordinary Russian she was simply ‘dear Elizabeth’.

Length: 60 words

Aesopica

A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

A wily predator dons a sheepskin so he can help himself to the whole flock.

Length: 54 words

Discovery and Invention

The Birth of the Telephone

Alexander Graham Bell was heading for a dead end when a broken component showed him the way.

Length: 115 words