Chapter 23 of A Life's Morning is here in full — 363 sentences across 73 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of A Life's Morning is here in full — 363 sentences across 73 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE UNEXPECTED Late in the evening Wilfrid received a visit from his father. Mr. Athel had dined with his sister, and subsequently accompanied his nieces to a concert. Beatrice should have sung, but had broken her engagement on the plea of ill-health. 'Been at home all the evening?' Mr. Athel began by asking.
Chapter 23 of A Life's Morning is here in full — 363 sentences across 73 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/72 · 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 woman who guided Dante through Paradise in the Divine Comedy
From this reading “Beatrice should have sung, but had broken her engagement on the plea of ill-health.”
a performance of music by players or singers not involving theatrical staging
From this reading “Mr. Athel had dined with his sister, and subsequently accompanied his nieces to a concert.”
past form of “dine” — have supper; eat dinner
From this reading “Mr. Athel had dined with his sister, and subsequently accompanied his nieces to a concert.”
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading “Beatrice should have sung, but had broken her engagement on the plea of ill-health.”
plural of “niece” — a daughter of your brother or sister
From this reading “Mr. Athel had dined with his sister, and subsequently accompanied his nieces to a concert.”
a humble request for help from someone in authority
From this reading “Beatrice should have sung, but had broken her engagement on the plea of ill-health.”
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading “Mr. Athel had dined with his sister, and subsequently accompanied his nieces to a concert.”
the imperial dynasty of China from 960 to 1279; noted for art and literature and philosophy
From this reading “Beatrice should have sung, but had broken her engagement on the plea of ill-health.”
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 THE UNEXPECTED Late in the evening Wilfrid received a visit from his father.
having companions or an escort
From this reading Mr. Athel had dined with his sister, and subsequently accompanied his nieces to a concert.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading 'Been at home all the evening?'
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mr. Athel had dined with his sister, and subsequently accompanied his nieces to a concert.
the verbal act of requesting
From this reading Mr. Athel began by asking.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading 'Been at home all the evening?'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr. Athel had dined with his sister, and subsequently accompanied his nieces to a concert.
the woman who guided Dante through Paradise in the Divine Comedy
From this reading Beatrice should have sung, but had broken her engagement on the plea of ill-health.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading 'Been at home all the evening?'
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Mr. Athel began by asking.
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading Beatrice should have sung, but had broken her engagement on the plea of ill-health.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Beatrice should have sung, but had broken her engagement on the plea of ill-health.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Mr. Athel began by asking.
a performance of music by players or singers not involving theatrical staging
From this reading Mr. Athel had dined with his sister, and subsequently accompanied his nieces to a concert.
past form of “dine” — have supper; eat dinner
From this reading Mr. Athel had dined with his sister, and subsequently accompanied his nieces to a concert.
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading Beatrice should have sung, but had broken her engagement on the plea of ill-health.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED Late in the evening Wilfrid received a visit from his father.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED Late in the evening Wilfrid received a visit from his father.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED Late in the evening Wilfrid received a visit from his father.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Mr. Athel had dined with his sister, and subsequently accompanied his nieces to a concert.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Beatrice should have sung, but had broken her engagement on the plea of ill-health.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Beatrice should have sung, but had broken her engagement on the plea of ill-health.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED Late in the evening Wilfrid received a visit from his father.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading 'Been at home all the evening?'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Beatrice should have sung, but had broken her engagement on the plea of ill-health.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED Late in the evening Wilfrid received a visit from his father.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED Late in the evening Wilfrid received a visit from his father.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Athel had dined with his sister, and subsequently accompanied his nieces to a concert.
plural of “niece” — a daughter of your brother or sister
From this reading Mr. Athel had dined with his sister, and subsequently accompanied his nieces to a concert.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Beatrice should have sung, but had broken her engagement on the plea of ill-health.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Beatrice should have sung, but had broken her engagement on the plea of ill-health.
a humble request for help from someone in authority
From this reading Beatrice should have sung, but had broken her engagement on the plea of ill-health.
conforming to the established language usage of educated native speakers
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED Late in the evening Wilfrid received a visit from his father.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading Beatrice should have sung, but had broken her engagement on the plea of ill-health.
a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading Mr. Athel had dined with his sister, and subsequently accompanied his nieces to a concert.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading Mr. Athel had dined with his sister, and subsequently accompanied his nieces to a concert.
the imperial dynasty of China from 960 to 1279; noted for art and literature and philosophy
From this reading Beatrice should have sung, but had broken her engagement on the plea of ill-health.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED Late in the evening Wilfrid received a visit from his father.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mr. Athel had dined with his sister, and subsequently accompanied his nieces to a concert.
not expected or anticipated
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED Late in the evening Wilfrid received a visit from his father.
go to see a place, as for entertainment
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED Late in the evening Wilfrid received a visit from his father.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE UNEXPECTED Late in the evening Wilfrid received a visit from his father.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Mr. Athel had dined with his sister, and subsequently accompanied his nieces to a concert.
Chapter 23 of A Life's Morning by George Gissing holds 363 sentences, grouped into 73 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 23 holds 363 sentences of A Life's Morning, unabridged, divided into 73 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of A Life's Morning by George Gissing exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 363 sentences, grouped into 73 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 73 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 73 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 23 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 Life's Morning by George Gissing on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8297 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4312 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4312, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1660 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Life's Morning section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of A Life's Morning 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 Life's Morning, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
