Chapter 1 of A dead man's diary is here in full — 42 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of A dead man's diary is here in full — 42 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A DEAD MAN'S DIARY. Written after his Decease. G.T. BETTANY, M.A. "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'" Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.
Chapter 1 of A dead man's diary is here in full — 42 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/8 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading “Written after his Decease.”
a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations
From this reading “A DEAD MAN'S DIARY.”
any place of pain and turmoil
From this reading “"I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"”
impossible or nearly impossible to see; imperceptible by the eye
From this reading “"I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"”
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “A DEAD MAN'S DIARY.”
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading “"I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"”
orally recite the letters of or give the spelling of
From this reading “"I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"”
set down in writing in any of various ways
From this reading “Written after his Decease.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “A DEAD MAN'S DIARY.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A DEAD MAN'S DIARY.
later than; following
From this reading Written after his Decease.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading G.T. BETTANY, M.A.
an indefinite time in the future
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading A DEAD MAN'S DIARY.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading Written after his Decease.
a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations
From this reading A DEAD MAN'S DIARY.
a metric unit of weight equal to one thousandth of a kilogram
From this reading G.T. BETTANY, M.A.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
any place of pain and turmoil
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Written after his Decease.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
impossible or nearly impossible to see; imperceptible by the eye
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading G.T. BETTANY, M.A.
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading A DEAD MAN'S DIARY.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.
100 senti equal 1 kroon in Estonia
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
orally recite the letters of or give the spelling of
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
a base found in DNA (but not in RNA) and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with adenine
From this reading G.T. BETTANY, M.A.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After Life to spell: And by-and-by my Soul return'd to me, And answered, 'I myself am Heav'n and Hell.'"
set down in writing in any of various ways
From this reading Written after his Decease.
Chapter 1 of A dead man's diary by Coulson Kernahan holds 42 sentences, grouped into 9 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 1 holds 42 sentences of A dead man's diary, unabridged, divided into 9 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of A dead man's diary by Coulson Kernahan exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 42 sentences, grouped into 9 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 9 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 9 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 1 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading A dead man's diary by Coulson Kernahan on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 808 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #72971 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #72971, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 67 minutes of reading across 162 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A dead man's diary section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of A dead man's diary to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in A dead man's diary, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
