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.

Stuart Era

The Return of King Charles II

Almost nine years after Oliver Cromwell’s army drove him from England, King Charles II returned at their invitation, and John Evelyn was there to see it.

Length: 60 words

Music and Musicians

Sharp’s the Word

On realising that he had the edge on his rivals, music publisher John Brand moved quickly to secure one of Haydn’s peerless Quartets.

Length: 58 words

Parables of Jesus

The Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen

While the owner is away, the men he has hired to tend his vineyard conspire to seize it for themselves.

Length: 59 words

Classical History

Brought to their Knees

Agricola, tasked with subduing the people of Britain to Roman colonial government, persuaded them to wear servitude as a badge of refinement.

Length: 117 words

Russian History

Prav’, Britaniya!

Herbert Bury’s duties took him back to St Petersburg after the Russian revolution of 1917, but all he could think of was how it used to be.

Length: 115 words

Extracts from Literature

Exit Lord Pudding

Piqued by the way French and German literati mocked the English, Charles Dickens urged his compatriots to be the better men.

Length: 113 words