Old Jack
Old Jack by William Henry Giles Kingston is available here as the complete text, split into 1429 reading sections of 5 sentences, each with audio and tap-to-define vocabulary.
Old Jack by William Henry Giles Kingston. Complete source text from Project Gutenberg eBook #23049.
Course Syllabus
This syllabus gives direct access to every published chapter and its complete sequence of five-line English readings.
Old Jack
Select a chapter to continue in the Cinema Lecture Hall with line-by-line English learning.
0 of 1424 original contextual illustrations are live; remaining readings use the book cover while their artwork is reviewed.
- Chapter I Chapter 1
- Chapter II Chapter 2
- Chapter III Chapter 3
- Chapter IV Chapter 4
- Chapter V Chapter 5
- Chapter VI Chapter 6
- Chapter VII Chapter 7
- Chapter VIII Chapter 8
- Chapter IX Chapter 9
- Chapter X Chapter 10
- Chapter XI Chapter 11
- Chapter XII Chapter 12
- Chapter XIII Chapter 13
- Chapter XIV Chapter 14
- Chapter XV Chapter 15
- Chapter XVI Chapter 16
- Chapter XVII Chapter 17
This edition of Old Jack by William Henry Giles Kingston carries the complete text of Project Gutenberg eBook #23049, divided into 17 chapters and 1429 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, and each section carries a contextual illustration generated from the passage itself.
Where can I read Old Jack in full?
The complete text of Old Jack is here, taken from Project Gutenberg eBook #23049 and divided into 1429 sections.
This page carries the whole of Old Jack by William Henry Giles Kingston, not an abridgement or a summary. The text comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #23049, with the Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence removed so that only the work itself remains. It runs to 7142 sentences across 17 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 Old Jack divided for reading?
Old Jack is presented in 17 chapters, each split into sections of 5 sentences for steady reading.
Rather than presenting Old Jack as unbroken pages, the text is grouped into 1429 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 17 chapters follow the divisions of the source edition, and each section carries a contextual illustration drawn from the passage it accompanies rather than a stock image.
Can I hear Old Jack read aloud?
Yes. Every sentence and every individual word of Old Jack can be played aloud, and each word shows its dictionary entry.
Every sentence of Old Jack 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 Old Jack
Common questions about reading Old Jack by William Henry Giles Kingston on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Is this the complete text of Old Jack?
Yes. All 7142 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #23049 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Which edition of Old Jack is used?
Project Gutenberg eBook #23049, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
How long does Old Jack take to read?
About 595 minutes of reading across 1429 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to read Old Jack section by section
How to work through Old Jack section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Open a chapter
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Old Jack 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 Old Jack
Words and structures a reader meets early in Old Jack, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
- Kingston
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of Old Jack; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Novel
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of Old Jack; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Written
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of Old Jack; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Biography
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of Old Jack; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.