The Copybook

Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.

871

© José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Conversion of Saul Clay Lane

A fiery fanatic wins support for the suppression of Christianity in its very cradle.

Read

872

© Oliver Dixon, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Jackdaw William Cowper

A bird perched upon a church steeple casts a severe glance over the doings of men.

Read

873

© B. Leprêtre, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.5.

It is a Beauteous Evening William Wordsworth

Walking with his ten-year-old daughter on the beach at Calais, Wordsworth considers the energy of God moving in all things.

Read

874

From the National Library of Ireland, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

An Eye for Detail Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes turns to his brother for help when the case of a missing Greek proves unexpectedly troublesome.

Read

875

From PikiWiki Israel collection, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Frank Foley Clay Lane

A mild-mannered clerk in the British Embassy’s passport office in Berlin, just before the outbreak of war in 1939, was not all he seemed to be.

Read

876

© Lucas Migliorelli, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA UK 3.0.

Olaf Tryggvason and the Pigsty Snorro Sturluson

Olaf hears that the ruler of Norway has lost the support of his noblemen, and sails away from England to claim his crown.

Read