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.

Indian Myths

The Heron and the Crab

An ageing Heron finds himself a little too stiff to fish for himself, so he thinks of a way to get the fish to do it for him.

Length: 119 words

Education

Economic Illiteracy

If Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli really wanted a better-educated public, he must tackle the high cost of living.

Length: 58 words

Greek and Roman Myths

The Doom of the Danaides

By day Danaus had to watch his fifty unhappy daughters marry their fifty cruel cousins, but the wedding night was yet to come.

Length: 116 words

The Hundred Years’ War

The Siege of Saint-James

Henry VI’s campaign to confirm himself as King of France looked to be in trouble after the Duke of Brittany switched sides.

Length: 117 words

Kings and Queens of England

George VI to Elizabeth II

The final part of this series is dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II, the country’s longest-serving monarch and arguably the most popular in our history.

Length: 57 words

Liberty and Prosperity

Fuel of Freedom

Victorian economist Alfred Marshall argued that it was no accident that free societies and coal-powered industries are found together.

Length: 110 words