Fiction, Extracts from
Brief passages taken from novels and short stories, by writers such as Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Rudyard Kipling.
3 articles
Topics
The Complete Catalogue
This is an A to Z list of all the tags (topics) covered on Clay Lane. It includes articles about our authors, but if you want to browse only those articles written by a particular author, go to the Authors page.
Featured
Selected Tags
-
-
Opinion
Passages in which writers express their views on various subjects, some light, some serious.
2 articles
-
All Tags
In A-Z Order
A
-
About Clay Lane
Meet our inspiration NL Clay, discover Straightforward English, find out why St George is our Patron Saint, and learn how to get in touch with the editor.
9 articles
-
Acton, John
A prominent English historian, who insisted on holding the strong men of politics to the same standards of morality as the rest of us.
1 article
-
Adams, Will
The first Englishman in Japan overcame the prejudice of his Portuguese rivals to became a Samurai, and one of the most trusted men in the land.
1 article
-
Albert, Prince Consort
Albert was the husband of Queen Victoria; his early death in 1861 was a grievous blow to the Queen, and took from the country a man of sound judgment and sincere philanthropy.
1 article
-
-
Anecdotes
Short, amusing tales from the past, most of them quite true, from pranks and mysteries to heartwarming gestures.
3 articles
-
-
Austen, Jane
Jane Austen was a wise and observant student of human nature and English society, whose finely-crafted novels have been repeatedly adapted for TV and cinema.
1 article
B
-
Bain, Francis
History professor Francis Bain, delighted Victorian readers back home with a series of ‘Indian’ fables.
1 article
-
Barbour, John
A Scottish clergyman and poet of the fourteenth century, who is regarded as the father of the country’s vernacular poetry.
1 article
-
Bede, St
An eighth-century English monk recognised today as the first English historian, and in his own lifetime as one of Europe’s leading mathematicians.
2 articles
-
Bible, The
Passages from the Bible, chiefly the incomparable English translation of 1611, called the Authorized or King James Version.
1 article
-
Biography
1 article
-
Blair, Hugh
A Scottish professor of Rhetoric, widely regarded in his day as the country’s greatest authority on good English.
1 article
-
Bonaparte, Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte’s dream of a united European empire, under his code of law, threw the Continent into more than a decade of bloodshed.
2 articles
-
British Constitution
Passages about the development and advantages of the United Kingdom’s unique political institutions, and some of their disadvantages too.
1 article
-
Butler, Samuel
A Victorian satirist and social commentator who warned of the emergence of intelligent machines.
1 article
C
-
Character
These stories bring to life virtues that the British have always admired: quiet courage, self-sacrifice, and fair play.
5 articles
-
Character, National
These writers, some from our islands, some from abroad, share their impressions of us, both the good and the bad.
3 articles
-
Christianity
Passages from the Bible, the history of the Church, and the lives of the saints.
2 articles
-
-
Clay, NL
NL Clay was a Yorkshire schoolmaster who campaigned for clear, plain English and for vigorous public debate.
2 articles
-
Cobbett William
A firebrand MP of the early nineteenth century, who championed ordinary working people and traditional family values.
2 articles
-
Cobden, Richard
Richard Cobden was one of the Victorian era’s outstanding statesmen, committed to peace and free trade between all nations.
2 articles
-
Creighton, Mandell
A historian and bishop who believed that a better and more sympathetic understanding of our history and that of other nations was vital for peace.
3 articles
-
Cuthbert, St
Stories about the seventh-century monk and bishop of Lindisfarne, who did so many miracles before and after his death.
1 article
D
-
Davies, Emily
Emily Davies campaigned vigorously but respectfully for a woman’s right to the same education given to men, and founded Girton College in Cambridge.
1 article
-
Defence, Britain’s
These are some of the events and ideals that kept Britain a sovereign country through centuries of danger.
1 article
-
Dickens, Charles
Victorian novelist and sharp social commentator Charles Dickens is one of the best-loved of all English writers, at home or abroad.
1 article
-
Diplomacy
The best of our statesmen have held that all nations, and especially our own, must treat others with sympathy, understanding and respect.
1 article
-
Discovery, Voyages of
Passages chronicling the adventurers of Britain and other nations, who explored new worlds (at any rate to them) and established new trade.
1 article
-
Disraeli, Benjamin
A popular novelist and also one of the country’s greatest statesmen, serving twice as Prime Minister.
1 article
-
-
Dostoevsky, Fyodor
One of Russia’s greatest writers, Dostoevsky’s deeply Christian beliefs and Russian soul helped him to explore the human heart as few novelists have ever done.
1 article
E
-
Education
Education can enlarge minds and soften hearts, but it can also work vanity and aid oppression.
4 articles
-
Eliot, George
1 article
-
Enterprise
The urge to take into one’s own hands the task of discovery and improvement is one of the main driving forces of human prosperity.
2 articles
F
-
Fable
Fables, myths, legends and folktales, from around the world, from Aesop to Perrault and Browning.
3 articles
-
Fiction, Extracts from
Brief passages taken from novels and short stories, by writers such as Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Rudyard Kipling.
3 articles
-
Fitch, Joshua
An adviser to the Government of Queen Victoria on education, who opposed ‘one size fits all’ solutions and strongly encouraged equality of the sexes.
1 article
-
France
Passages about our closest neighbour, at one time our enemy but now our friend, and always (in Burke’s words) ‘the cradle of our race’.
2 articles
G
-
Greece
Whether by Homer’s epics, Aesop’s fables, or the struggle for independence in Byron’s day, Greece has civilised and inspired the English for more than two thousand years.
1 article
H
-
-
Hazlitt, William
One of Victorian England’s most influential essayists and critics, who is remarkable for talking a great deal of common sense.
1 article
-
Herbert, George
Welshman George Herbert was a country clergyman who gave us much-loved poetry and an enduring example of conscientious duty.
1 article
-
History
Writers of the past share their ideas about the study of history, and why it is important in a society that seeks improvement.
6 articles
-
Hunt, Leigh
Leigh Hunt was an outspoken essayist, journalist and critic, who helped make the careers of Keats and Shelley.
1 article
I
-
Indian Literature
Fiction and fable from India, including the great myths of the ancients, and India’s history told by her own writers.
1 article
J
-
Japan
Passages about Japan, and especially the country’s relationship with the English people.
1 article
-
John, Duke of Montagu
John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu, was well-known for his practical jokes, but was also a generous benefactor of the Foundling Hospital.
1 article
-
Jonson, Ben
Though overshadowed by his friend William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson deserves recognition as one of England’s greatest playwrights and literary critics.
1 article
K
-
Kipling, Rudyard
Bombay-born Kipling remains one of England’s most popular authors, thanks to touching poems such as ‘If’, and memorable characters from Mowgli to Kim.
1 article
L
-
liberty
The word is often abused, but understood rightly, liberty can be the foundation of a nation’s happiness.
1 article
M
-
manoel-gonzales
A Portuguese merchant (or so he tells us) of the eighteenth century, who has left us an intriguing analysis of his English market.
1 article
-
Melmoth, William Henry
An eighteenth-century editor and translator whose wrote ‘for the pleasure and improvement of every class’.
1 article
-
Mill, John Stuart
John Stuart Mill was a Victorian philosopher who championed personal freedom and responsibility, rather than Government control.
1 article
N
-
Nelson, Horatio
Horatio, Lord Nelson, was a Royal Navy admiral whose victories over fleets loyal to Napoleon Bonaparte helped ensure Britain’s independence.
1 article
-
Nursery Rhymes
Tales and verse written for children, but full of timely instruction for adults too.
1 article
O
-
Opinion
Passages in which writers express their views on various subjects, some light, some serious.
2 articles
P
-
Pasco, John
After an illustrious career in the Royal Navy, John Pasco left behind priceless eyewitness memoirs of historic events, including the Battle of Trafalgar.
1 article
-
Perrault, Charles
A French story-teller of the late 17th century, who left us classic tales such as ‘Cinderella’, ‘Puss in Boots’, ‘Tom Thumb’ and ‘Blue Beard’.
3 articles
-
Q
R
-
Rome, Classical
Passages about the great City of Rome, from the Republic to the Fall of Rome in the early fifth century.
1 article
-
S
-
-
Shelley, Percy Bysshe
A highly-strung, sensitive man, Shelley died young, but had already become one of England’s most admired poets.
1 article
-
Smiles, Samuel
Scottish motivational writer Samuel Smiles encouraged Victorian working men and women to takes command of their own lives and futures.
2 articles
-
Smith, Sydney
Sydney Smith was an essayist, political reformer, and sharp observer of society and human nature, who was also a warm-hearted and twinkle-eyed country clergyman.
2 articles
-
Society
Passages about the customs and institutions we create to support families, towns and countries.
3 articles
T
-
Thinking, Independent
A society in which people aren’t allowed to think for themselves will gradually run out of ideas, and of any opportunities to improve.
1 article
-
Tolstoy, Leo
The author of the monumental ‘War and Peace’, a novel about Napoleon’s anti-Russian campaign, was also a stern but non-violent critic of oppressive Government.
1 article
-
Trade, Free
Governments are always meddling in trade among the world’s merchants, but these writers show that we’re better off when they don’t.
2 articles
-
Traditional
Passages that have been handed down to us from the past with no name attached, but have become part of our common heritage.
2 articles
W
-
Walton, Izaak
Izaak Walton’s lives of seventeenth-century public figures were a landmark in biography.
1 article
-
Word Games
Games with words and their letters, just for fun, including our own Honeycomb word-building game.
3 articles
-
Words and Phrases
Short passages that shed light on curious English words and expressions, what they mean, and how they came to be.
1 article
Magazine
Latest Issue
Character Counts!
Elbert Green Hubbard tells us about Richard Cobden’s early life, and how it shaped his values; Sydney Smith gives us his definition of marriage; mild-mannered clergyman George Herbert get his hands (and much else besides) dirty in helping labourer dumped in the road by his overloaded horse; and a Victorian commuter arrives home carrying more than his briefcase.