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.

Music and Musicians

Borrowed Tools

Ethel Smyth encouraged writers to try to find their own words before deciding to borrow someone else’s.

Length: 111 words

Classical History

‘They Make a Desert and Call it Peace’

After the kingdoms of Great Britain were absorbed into the Roman Empire, the promises of prosperity and civilisation came only to a favoured few.

Length: 109 words

Classical History

Rome, Ruin and Revenue

Rome’s greedy tax policy in Britain and Gaul left farmers with little to show for their labours but the stripes on their backs.

Length: 112 words

Modern History

A Near Thing

During the Battle of Inkerman in 1854, one of Lord Raglan’s hospital sergeants had a close encounter with a Russian cannonball.

Length: 56 words

Indian History

Two Queens of Travancore

Lakshmi and her sister Parvati enlisted the help of the British Resident, Colonel Munro, to steady the Kingdom of Travancore.

Length: 109 words

Aesopica

A Cock and Horses

When some people talk about compromise, what they mean is that everyone else should compromise for their benefit.

Length: 53 words