The Span o' Life
The Span o' Life by William McLennan is available here as the complete text, split into 854 reading sections of 5 sentences, each with audio and tap-to-define vocabulary.
The Span o' Life: A Tale of Louisbourg & Quebec by William McLennan. Complete source text from Project Gutenberg eBook #33731.
Course Syllabus
This syllabus gives direct access to every published chapter and its complete sequence of five-line English readings.
The Span o' Life
Select a chapter to continue in the Cinema Lecture Hall with line-by-line English learning.
0 of 842 original contextual illustrations are live; remaining readings use the book cover while their artwork is reviewed.
- Chapter I
- Chapter II
- Chapter III
- Chapter IV
- Chapter V
- Chapter VI
- Chapter VII
- Chapter VIII
- Chapter IX
- Chapter X
- Chapter XI
- Chapter XII
- Chapter XIII
- Chapter XIV
- Chapter XV
- Chapter XVI
- Chapter XVII
- Chapter XVIII
- Chapter XIX
- Chapter XX
- Chapter XXI
- Chapter XXII
- Chapter XXIII
- Chapter XXIV
- Chapter XXV
- Chapter XXVI
- Chapter XXVII
- Chapter XXVIII
- Chapter XXIX
- Chapter XXX
This edition of The Span o' Life by William McLennan carries the complete text of Project Gutenberg eBook #33731, divided into 30 chapters and 854 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 Span o' Life in full?
The complete text of The Span o' Life is here, taken from Project Gutenberg eBook #33731 and divided into 854 sections.
This page carries the whole of The Span o' Life by William McLennan, not an abridgement or a summary. The text comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #33731, with the Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence removed so that only the work itself remains. It runs to 4268 sentences across 30 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 Span o' Life divided for reading?
The Span o' Life is presented in 30 chapters, each split into sections of 5 sentences for steady reading.
Rather than presenting The Span o' Life as unbroken pages, the text is grouped into 854 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 30 chapters.
Can I hear The Span o' Life read aloud?
Yes. Every sentence and every individual word of The Span o' Life can be played aloud, and each word shows its dictionary entry.
Every sentence of The Span o' Life 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 Span o' Life
Common questions about reading The Span o' Life by William McLennan on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Is this the complete text of The Span o' Life?
Yes. All 4268 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33731 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Which edition of The Span o' Life is used?
Project Gutenberg eBook #33731, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
How long does The Span o' Life take to read?
About 355 minutes of reading across 854 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to read The Span o' Life section by section
How to work through The Span o' Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Open a chapter
Choose one of the 30 chapters of The Span o' Life 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 Span o' Life
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Span o' Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
- Louisbourg
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Span o' Life; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Quebec
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Span o' Life; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- William
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Span o' Life; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Mclennan
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Span o' Life; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.