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.

Character and Conduct

An Extraordinary Man

Artist Benjamin Robert Haydon laments the passing of Lord Egremont, whose generosity and good judgment reached far beyond his support for struggling artists.

Length: 54 words

Aesop of Samos

The Wolf and the Lamb

A Wolf finds a series of reasons for making a meal of a little Lamb, but it turns out he did not really need them.

Length: 57 words

Extracts from Literature

The Squeers Method

Mr Squeers explains his educational philosophy to his new and bewildered assistant master at Dotheboys Hall in Yorkshire.

Length: 115 words

Indian History

One Man Army

The fort at Budge Budge near Calcutta proved stubborn against the massed artillery of the East India Company, but a tipsy seaman took it all by himself.

Length: 113 words

The Battle of Waterloo

The Button Man of Waterloo

Amid all the confusion of the Battle of Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington spotted a man in civilian clothes riding busily around on a stocky horse.

Length: 116 words

Extracts from Literature

The Comfort of Home

Jane Eyre returns to Thornfield Hall and Mr Rochester, and even the thought of Blanche Ingram cannot rob her of happiness.

Length: 120 words