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.

Mediaeval History

Woven Story

In the thirteenth century, wealthy English homeowners began to think more about the inside of their stately homes.

Length: 117 words

Free Speech and Conscience

Of Hares, Hounds and Red Herrings

In January 1807, newspapers breathlessly reported that Napoleon Bonaparte’s rampage across Europe was at an end — but was it true?

Length: 171 words

Stuart Era

The Prisoner from Provence

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.

Length: 172 words

Russian History

Invitation to a Viking

The interminable squabbling among the Slavic peoples around the southeast Baltic prompted their leaders to drastic action.

Length: 59 words

Tudor Era

An Admirable English Custom

Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus urged Fausto Andrelini not to miss out on England’s enchanting contribution to good manners.

Length: 59 words

Greek Myths

The Fall of Icarus

Trapped in Crete with his son Icarus, the craftsman and inventor Daedalus realises a bold and desperate plan to get away.

Length: 120 words