The Ball of Fire
The Ball of Fire by George Randolph Chester is available here as the complete text, split into 1078 reading sections of 5 sentences, each with audio and tap-to-define vocabulary.
The Ball of Fire by George Randolph Chester. Complete source text from Project Gutenberg eBook #62653.
Course Syllabus
This syllabus gives direct access to every published chapter and its complete sequence of five-line English readings.
The Ball of Fire
Select a chapter to continue in the Cinema Lecture Hall with line-by-line English learning.
0 of 1061 original contextual illustrations are live; remaining readings use the book cover while their artwork is reviewed.
- Chapter I No Place for Sentiment
- Chapter II “Why?”
- Chapter III The Change in the Rector’s Eyes
- Chapter IV Too Many Men
- Chapter V Edward E. Allison Takes a Vacation
- Chapter VI The Impulsive Young Man from Home
- Chapter VII They Had Already Spoiled Her!
- Chapter VIII Still Piecing Out the World
- Chapter IX The Mine for the Golden Altar
- Chapter X The Storm Centre of Magnetic Attraction
- Chapter XI “Gentlemen, There Is Your Empire!”
- Chapter XII Gail Solves the Problem of Vedder Court
- Chapter XIII The Survival of the Fittest
- Chapter XIV The Free and Entirely Uncurbed
- Chapter XV But Why Was She Lonesome?
- Chapter XVI
- Chapter XVII Something Happens to Gerald Fosland
- Chapter XVIII
- Chapter XIX The Rector Knows
- Chapter XX The Breed of Gail
- Chapter XXI The Public Is Aroused
- Chapter XXII
- Chapter XXIII A Series of Gaieties
- Chapter XXIV The Maker of Maps
- Chapter XXV A Question of Eugenics
- Chapter XXVI An Empire and an Empress
- Chapter XXVII Allison’s Private and Particular Devil
- Chapter XXVIII Love
- Chapter XXIX Gail First!
- Chapter XXX The Flutter of a Sheet of Music
- Chapter XXXI Gail Breaks a Promise
- Chapter XXXII Gerald Fosland Makes a Speech
- Chapter XXXIII Chicken, or Steak?
- Chapter XXXIV A Matter of Conscience
- Chapter XXXV A Vestry Meeting
- Chapter XXXVI Hand in Hand
This edition of The Ball of Fire by George Randolph Chester carries the complete text of Project Gutenberg eBook #62653, divided into 36 chapters and 1078 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 The Ball of Fire in full?
The complete text of The Ball of Fire is here, taken from Project Gutenberg eBook #62653 and divided into 1078 sections.
This page carries the whole of The Ball of Fire by George Randolph Chester, not an abridgement or a summary. The text comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #62653, with the Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence removed so that only the work itself remains. It runs to 5386 sentences across 36 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 The Ball of Fire divided for reading?
The Ball of Fire is presented in 36 chapters, each split into sections of 5 sentences for steady reading.
Rather than presenting The Ball of Fire as unbroken pages, the text is grouped into 1078 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 36 chapters.
Can I hear The Ball of Fire read aloud?
Yes. Every sentence and every individual word of The Ball of Fire can be played aloud, and each word shows its dictionary entry.
Every sentence of The Ball of Fire 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 The Ball of Fire
Common questions about reading The Ball of Fire by George Randolph Chester on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Is this the complete text of The Ball of Fire?
Yes. All 5386 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62653 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Which edition of The Ball of Fire is used?
Project Gutenberg eBook #62653, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
How long does The Ball of Fire take to read?
About 448 minutes of reading across 1078 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to read The Ball of Fire section by section
How to work through The Ball of Fire section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Open a chapter
Choose one of the 36 chapters of The Ball of Fire 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 The Ball of Fire
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Ball of Fire, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
- Silence
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Ball of Fire; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Pervaded
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Ball of Fire; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Aisles
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Ball of Fire; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Market
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Ball of Fire; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.