There & Back
There & Back by George MacDonald is available here as the complete text, split into 1919 reading sections of 5 sentences, each with audio and tap-to-define vocabulary.
There & Back by George MacDonald. Complete source text from Project Gutenberg eBook #8879.
Course Syllabus
This syllabus gives direct access to every published chapter and its complete sequence of five-line English readings.
There & Back
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- Chapter I _Father, Child, and Nurse._
- Chapter II _The Flight._
- Chapter III _The Bookbinder and His Pupil._
- Chapter IV _Simon Armour_
- Chapter V
- Chapter VI _A Holiday._
- Chapter VII _Alice._
- Chapter VIII _The Beech-Tree_
- Chapter IX _The Library_
- Chapter X _Barbara and Richard_
- Chapter XI _Barbara and Others._
- Chapter XII _Mrs. Wylder and Barbara._
- Chapter XIII _The Parson's Parable._
- Chapter XIV _The Rime of the Ancient Mariner._
- Chapter XV _Richard and Wingfold_
- Chapter XVI _Richard and Alice_
- Chapter XVII _A Sister_
- Chapter XVIII _Alice and Barbara_
- Chapter XIX _Wingfold and Barbara_
- Chapter XX _The Shoeing of Miss Brown_
- Chapter XXI _Barbara's Duty_
- Chapter XXII _Lady Ann Meditates_
- Chapter XXIII _Lady Ann and Richard_
- Chapter XXIV _Mr., Mrs., and Miss Wylder_
- Chapter XXV _Nature and Supernature._
- Chapter XXVI _Yet a Lower Deep._
- Chapter XXVII _A Door Opened in Heaven_
- Chapter XXVIII _Richard's Dilemma._
- Chapter XXIX
- Chapter XXX _The Cave in the Fire_
- Chapter XXXI
- Chapter XXXII _Uncle-Father and Aunt-Mother_
- Chapter XXXIII _Barbara at Home_
- Chapter XXXIV _Miss Brown_
- Chapter XXXV _The Baronet's Will_
- Chapter XXXVI _Wingfold and Arthur Manson_
- Chapter XXXVII _Richard and His Family_
- Chapter XXXVIII _The Quarrel_
- Chapter XXXIX _The Baronet's Funeral_
- Chapter XL _The Packet_
This edition of There & Back by George MacDonald carries the complete text of Project Gutenberg eBook #8879, divided into 40 chapters and 1919 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 There & Back in full?
The complete text of There & Back is here, taken from Project Gutenberg eBook #8879 and divided into 1919 sections.
This page carries the whole of There & Back by George MacDonald, not an abridgement or a summary. The text comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #8879, with the Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence removed so that only the work itself remains. It runs to 9593 sentences across 40 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 There & Back divided for reading?
There & Back is presented in 40 chapters, each split into sections of 5 sentences for steady reading.
Rather than presenting There & Back as unbroken pages, the text is grouped into 1919 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 40 chapters.
Can I hear There & Back read aloud?
Yes. Every sentence and every individual word of There & Back can be played aloud, and each word shows its dictionary entry.
Every sentence of There & Back 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 There & Back
Common questions about reading There & Back by George MacDonald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Is this the complete text of There & Back?
Yes. All 9593 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8879 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Which edition of There & Back is used?
Project Gutenberg eBook #8879, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
How long does There & Back take to read?
About 600 minutes of reading across 1919 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to read There & Back section by section
How to work through There & Back section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Open a chapter
Choose one of the 40 chapters of There & Back 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 There & Back
Words and structures a reader meets early in There & Back, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
- Stirring
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of There & Back; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Muddy
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of There & Back; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Inquire--not
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of There & Back; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Motives
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of There & Back; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.