Extracts from Fiction

Posts in The Copybook tagged ‘Extracts from Fiction’

103
A Tempting Offer Jane Austen

True moral integrity comes from within.

Henry Crawford has decided it would be fun to break Fanny Price’s heart by making her fall in love with him. He thinks that Fanny, whose life is guided by strict principle, will jump at the chance to mould someone in her own image — thereby revealing how little he understands of principle, or of Fanny.

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104
By the Toss of a Coin Robert Louis Stevenson

The Master and his brother Henry must decide which of them goes to fight for Bonnie Prince Charlie.

It is 1745, and James - the Master of Ballantrae - and his younger brother Henry both want to fight for Bonnie Prince Charlie. But one of them must stay at home and make peace with King George II, in case he wins, and James suggests a way of deciding who it shall be.

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105
Practice Makes Perfect Jane Austen

Making friends is, like playing music, not just a matter of natural talent.

Elizabeth Bennet and Colonel Fitzwilliam have been teasing the Colonel’s cousin, Mr Darcy, about his stiff and awkward behaviour in company. Mr Darcy claims he cannot help it, but Elizabeth is having none of that.

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106
In Good Company Jane Austen

Anne Elliot resents being expected to court the society of anyone simply because of social status.

Anne Elliot’s snobbish father Sir Walter, of Camden Place in Bath, usually wastes no time on those who fall short of his exacting standards in beauty or manners. But as Anne complains to her attentive cousin, Mr Elliot, he makes a grovelling exception for his aristocratic relations, the Dalrymples.

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107
With the Compliments of Mr Collins Jane Austen

There is an art to making one’s compliments seem artless.

Mr Bennet delights in meeting ridiculous people. His cousin, the Revd Mr Collins, is a revelation, singing the praises of his snobbish neighbour Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and her smothered, chronically ill daughter Anne.

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108
‘Nothing clears up one’s ideas like explaining them’ H. G. Wells

Muddle-headed inventor Professor Cavor needs to think aloud, and for reasons of his own Mr Bedford is anxious to listen.

Mr Bedford has complained about Professor Cavor’s habit of humming loudly as he passes by, thinking scientific thoughts, on his regular afternoon walk. As a result, the Professor’s walks have lost their magic, and Bedford feels guilty.

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