Elsie Venner
Elsie Venner by Oliver Wendell Holmes is available here as the complete text, split into 1128 reading sections of 5 sentences, each with audio and tap-to-define vocabulary.
Elsie Venner by Oliver Wendell Holmes. Complete source text from Project Gutenberg eBook #2696.
Course Syllabus
This syllabus gives direct access to every published chapter and its complete sequence of five-line English readings.
Elsie Venner
Select a chapter to continue in the Cinema Lecture Hall with line-by-line English learning.
0 of 1113 original contextual illustrations are live; remaining readings use the book cover while their artwork is reviewed.
- Chapter I The Brahmin Caste of New England
- Chapter II The Student and His Certificate
- Chapter III Mr. Bernard Tries His Hand
- Chapter IV The Moth Flies into the Candle
- Chapter V An Old-Fashioned Descriptive Chapter
- Chapter VI The Sunbeam and the Shadow
- Chapter VII The Event of the Season
- Chapter VIII The Morning After
- Chapter IX
- Chapter X The Doctor Calls on Elsie Venner
- Chapter XI Cousin Richard's Visit
- Chapter XII
- Chapter XIII
- Chapter XIV Family Secrets
- Chapter XV Physiological
- Chapter XVI
- Chapter XVII Old Sophy Calls on the Reverend Doctor
- Chapter XVIII The Reverend Doctor Calls on Brother Fairweather
- Chapter XIX The Spider on His Thread
- Chapter XX From Without and from Within
- Chapter XXI The Widow Rowens Gives a Tea-Party
- Chapter XXII Why Doctors Differ
- Chapter XXIII The Wild Huntsman
- Chapter XXIV On His Tracks
- Chapter XXV The Perilous Hour
- Chapter XXVI The News Reaches the Dudley Mansion
- Chapter XXVII A Soul in Distress
- Chapter XXVIII The Secret Is Whispered
- Chapter XXIX The White Ash
- Chapter XXX The Golden Cord Is Loosed
- Chapter XXXI
- Chapter XXXII Conclusion
This edition of Elsie Venner by Oliver Wendell Holmes carries the complete text of Project Gutenberg eBook #2696, divided into 32 chapters and 1128 reading sections of 5 sentences each. Every sentence of the source is kept, and each chapter records which sentences cover which part of the story. Any word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Where can I read Elsie Venner in full?
The complete text of Elsie Venner is here, taken from Project Gutenberg eBook #2696 and divided into 1128 sections.
This page carries the whole of Elsie Venner by Oliver Wendell Holmes, not an abridgement or a summary. The text comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #2696, with the Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence removed so that only the work itself remains. It runs to 5636 sentences across 32 chapters. Each chapter stores a record of which sentences cover which part of the work, so nothing is quietly dropped between the source edition and the page you read.
How is Elsie Venner divided for reading?
Elsie Venner is presented in 32 chapters, each split into sections of 5 sentences for steady reading.
Rather than presenting Elsie Venner as unbroken pages, the text is grouped into 1128 sections of 5 sentences each. A section is short enough to hold in mind at once, which suits a reader working in a second language or returning to a long work in short sittings. The sections are gathered into 32 chapters.
Can I hear Elsie Venner read aloud?
Yes. Every sentence and every individual word of Elsie Venner can be played aloud, and each word shows its dictionary entry.
Every sentence of Elsie Venner can be played aloud, and so can any single word within it. Tapping a word plays it on its own and opens its dictionary entry, with the pronunciation shown in IPA alongside the part of speech and meaning. The reading voice uses United States English. This matters most for a work of this period, where a reader meets vocabulary and turns of phrase that are no longer in daily use and cannot be guessed reliably from spelling alone.
Questions about reading Elsie Venner
Common questions about reading Elsie Venner by Oliver Wendell Holmes on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Is this the complete text of Elsie Venner?
Yes. All 5636 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2696 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Which edition of Elsie Venner is used?
Project Gutenberg eBook #2696, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
How long does Elsie Venner take to read?
About 469 minutes of reading across 1128 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to read Elsie Venner section by section
How to work through Elsie Venner section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Open a chapter
Choose one of the 32 chapters of Elsie Venner to begin.
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Read one section
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
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Listen and tap
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Vocabulary met early in Elsie Venner
Words and structures a reader meets early in Elsie Venner, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
- Nothing
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of Elsie Venner; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- England
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of Elsie Venner; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Corresponding
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of Elsie Venner; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Feudal
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of Elsie Venner; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.