Chapter 1 of A History of Pendennis, Volume 1 is here in full — 45 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 History of Pendennis, Volume 1 is here in full — 45 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE HISTORY OF PENDENNIS. HIS FORTUNES AND MISFORTUNES, HIS FRIENDS AND HIS GREATEST ENEMY. WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS ON WOOD BY THE AUTHOR. IN TWO VOLUMES.
Chapter 1 of A History of Pendennis, Volume 1 is here in full — 45 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/9 · 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.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading “WITH ILLUSTRATIONS ON WOOD BY THE AUTHOR.”
an opposing military force
From this reading “HIS FORTUNES AND MISFORTUNES, HIS FRIENDS AND HIS GREATEST ENEMY.”
plural of “fortune” — an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading “HIS FORTUNES AND MISFORTUNES, HIS FRIENDS AND HIS GREATEST ENEMY.”
highest in quality
From this reading “HIS FORTUNES AND MISFORTUNES, HIS FRIENDS AND HIS GREATEST ENEMY.”
plural of “illustration” — artwork that helps make something clear or attractive
From this reading “WITH ILLUSTRATIONS ON WOOD BY THE AUTHOR.”
plural of “misfortune” — unnecessary and unforeseen trouble resulting from an unfortunate event
From this reading “HIS FORTUNES AND MISFORTUNES, HIS FRIENDS AND HIS GREATEST ENEMY.”
English writer (born in India) (1811-1863)
From this reading “WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY.”
plural of “volume” — the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object
From this reading “IN TWO VOLUMES.”
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 “HIS FORTUNES AND MISFORTUNES, HIS FRIENDS AND HIS GREATEST ENEMY.”
In this reading “IN TWO VOLUMES.”
In this reading “WITH ILLUSTRATIONS ON WOOD BY THE AUTHOR.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading HIS FORTUNES AND MISFORTUNES, HIS FRIENDS AND HIS GREATEST ENEMY.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading WITH ILLUSTRATIONS ON WOOD BY THE AUTHOR.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading WITH ILLUSTRATIONS ON WOOD BY THE AUTHOR.
an opposing military force
From this reading HIS FORTUNES AND MISFORTUNES, HIS FRIENDS AND HIS GREATEST ENEMY.
plural of “fortune” — an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading HIS FORTUNES AND MISFORTUNES, HIS FRIENDS AND HIS GREATEST ENEMY.
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading HIS FORTUNES AND MISFORTUNES, HIS FRIENDS AND HIS GREATEST ENEMY.
highest in quality
From this reading HIS FORTUNES AND MISFORTUNES, HIS FRIENDS AND HIS GREATEST ENEMY.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading HIS FORTUNES AND MISFORTUNES, HIS FRIENDS AND HIS GREATEST ENEMY.
the aggregate of past events
From this reading THE HISTORY OF PENDENNIS.
plural of “illustration” — artwork that helps make something clear or attractive
From this reading WITH ILLUSTRATIONS ON WOOD BY THE AUTHOR.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading IN TWO VOLUMES.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY.
plural of “misfortune” — unnecessary and unforeseen trouble resulting from an unfortunate event
From this reading HIS FORTUNES AND MISFORTUNES, HIS FRIENDS AND HIS GREATEST ENEMY.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE HISTORY OF PENDENNIS.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading WITH ILLUSTRATIONS ON WOOD BY THE AUTHOR.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE HISTORY OF PENDENNIS.
English writer (born in India) (1811-1863)
From this reading WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE HISTORY OF PENDENNIS.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading IN TWO VOLUMES.
plural of “volume” — the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object
From this reading IN TWO VOLUMES.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY.
in the company of; together with
From this reading WITH ILLUSTRATIONS ON WOOD BY THE AUTHOR.
the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
From this reading WITH ILLUSTRATIONS ON WOOD BY THE AUTHOR.
Chapter 1 of A History of Pendennis, Volume 1 by William Makepeace Thackeray holds 45 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 45 sentences of A History of Pendennis, Volume 1, unabridged, divided into 9 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of A History of Pendennis, Volume 1 by William Makepeace Thackeray exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 45 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 History of Pendennis, Volume 1 by William Makepeace Thackeray on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6897 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34922 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34922, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 574 minutes of reading across 1380 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A History of Pendennis, Volume 1 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of A History of Pendennis, Volume 1 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 History of Pendennis, Volume 1, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
