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In 1905 the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin rebelled against the officers in what is now viewed as a first step towards the Russian Revolution of 1917. The mutiny formed the basis of Sergei Eisenstein's 1925 silent film Battleship Potemkin. (540 words)

In this short article, you can read about modern day piracy in the sea around Somalia and learn about the pirates of hundreds, even thousands, of years ago. Julius Caesar was taken prisoner by pirates in Roman times and robbery at sea has continued till the present day. We still love to watch films about pirates which show us a romantic life of adventure but life was very different if you lived on those ships. Read more! (920 words)

This Stevenson was the creator of the legendary Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the dual personality which has become a part of the English language. This horror story is about a man who steal corpses from their graves or, worse, murders people to sell their bodies to scientists for research (2,500 words)

‘Banjo’ Paterson wrote many stories about animals and life in the wild in Australia, but there are not many which are as funny as this one about sheep. Here, he tells us why he hates sheep and he makes us laugh too (800 words).

Maupassant, the greatest of all French short story-tellers, here describes a simple habit that has terrible results. A well-known man in a small French town often walks around and sees if there’s anything on the ground he can use. He finds a piece of string, but quickly this small discovery changes his life for the worse (1,350 words).

In this very short story, the great Russian novelist, Leo Tolstoy, gives his readers a simple truth. The story seems like a children’s tale as it includes a king and a wise old man, but it is suitable for all ages of reader (1,100 words)

Most people learning or improving their English are in their teenage years or twenties. A lot of you have never heard of Frank Sinatra. But there are also students learning English because of a change in job, to make more of their holiday in an English-speaking country or just as a hobby. These people might be older. For them, Frank Sinatra was the star of many Hollywood films, the most famous singer of his generation and a sex symbol. Read about his surprising life, his suspected links with the Mafia and his fame (550 words).

Saki tells a very funny tale about a man on a train listening to the boring stories of an aunt as she tries to keep three small children interested and well-behaved. She does not succeed. The man takes her place and tells the little ones a story that makes their aunt very worried (1,760 words).

The heroine of this story has decided that money is more important in a husband than love and a very rich man she knows is about to ask to marry her. Then something goes very wrong. But, in the end, she believes she has both riches and affection … or does she? (970 words)

T. E. Lawrence went to the best schools and was a promising academic at a great English university. He earned his place in history as a British soldier who led the Arabs to fight against the Ottoman Turks in the First World War. A man who was never comfortable with the British upper class, Lawrence found a home among the Bedouin but he lost it and his honour amongst the Arabs because he could not keep his promise. (1,100 words)

There is a statue of Nelson in the heart of London. It stands high above the buildings that surround it. It was built to show a nation’s love of one of its greatest military men – a sailor who beat Napoleon Bonaparte and stopped the French advance across Europe. But Nelson was not only a hero. He had a romance which was almost as famous as his battles (1,310 words).

On 26 December, 2004, a tsunami hit the coastlines of countries as far away from each other as Japan, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India. More than a quarter of a million people died. Some were on holiday for the Christmas break but most lived in these areas. Their homes were destroyed; there were no roads or railways. But how did this terrible thing happen? (440 words).

Aileen Wournos was beaten and sexually abused as a child. She left home as early as she could and became a prostitute but later developed a warm relationship with another woman. Aileen murdered her male customers to get their money to buy her girlfriend presents but when she was caught, her lover sold her story to the newspapers (970 words).

Poe lived a disappointing life. He never made any money from his stories or poems and, when he got the chance to make good, he was always too drunk to take it. It is hard to know the truth about his life because he also lied all the time. However, his horror stories are considered masterpieces of American literature. This is the story of his extraordinary life and death. (1,600 words)

Country and western music is a major industry, especially in the United States, where it is popular all across the South. But its appeal is wider than just among cowboys. Although it was initially popular only among white people, that has changed in recent years as more and more radical artists have sung in the genre (860 words).