Chapter 9 of A London Life, and Other Tales is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of A London Life, and Other Tales is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
'For my sake?' 'To marry her if she breaks with him.' Jasper turned his eyes from the horizon to my own, and I found a strange expression in them. 'Has Miss Mavis commissioned you to make this inquiry?' 'Never in the world.'
Chapter 9 of A London Life, and Other Tales is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
plural of “break” — some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity
From this reading “'To marry her if she breaks with him.'”
(of military officers) holding by virtue of a commission a rank of second lieutenant or ensign or above
From this reading “'Has Miss Mavis commissioned you to make this inquiry?'”
the line at which the sky and Earth appear to meet
From this reading “Jasper turned his eyes from the horizon to my own, and I found a strange expression in them.”
a search for knowledge
From this reading “'Has Miss Mavis commissioned you to make this inquiry?'”
an opaque form of quartz; red or yellow or brown or dark green in color; used for ornamentation or as a gemstone
From this reading “Jasper turned his eyes from the horizon to my own, and I found a strange expression in them.”
take in marriage
From this reading “'To marry her if she breaks with him.'”
common Old World thrush noted for its song
From this reading “'Has Miss Mavis commissioned you to make this inquiry?'”
a reason for wanting something done
From this reading “'For my sake?'”
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 Jasper turned his eyes from the horizon to my own, and I found a strange expression in them.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Jasper turned his eyes from the horizon to my own, and I found a strange expression in them.
plural of “break” — some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity
From this reading 'To marry her if she breaks with him.'
(of military officers) holding by virtue of a commission a rank of second lieutenant or ensign or above
From this reading 'Has Miss Mavis commissioned you to make this inquiry?'
the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading Jasper turned his eyes from the horizon to my own, and I found a strange expression in them.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Jasper turned his eyes from the horizon to my own, and I found a strange expression in them.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading 'For my sake?'
set up or found
From this reading Jasper turned his eyes from the horizon to my own, and I found a strange expression in them.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Jasper turned his eyes from the horizon to my own, and I found a strange expression in them.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'Has Miss Mavis commissioned you to make this inquiry?'
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading 'To marry her if she breaks with him.'
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading 'To marry her if she breaks with him.'
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Jasper turned his eyes from the horizon to my own, and I found a strange expression in them.
the line at which the sky and Earth appear to meet
From this reading Jasper turned his eyes from the horizon to my own, and I found a strange expression in them.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Jasper turned his eyes from the horizon to my own, and I found a strange expression in them.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading 'To marry her if she breaks with him.'
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Jasper turned his eyes from the horizon to my own, and I found a strange expression in them.
a search for knowledge
From this reading 'Has Miss Mavis commissioned you to make this inquiry?'
an opaque form of quartz; red or yellow or brown or dark green in color; used for ornamentation or as a gemstone
From this reading Jasper turned his eyes from the horizon to my own, and I found a strange expression in them.
engage in
From this reading 'Has Miss Mavis commissioned you to make this inquiry?'
take in marriage
From this reading 'To marry her if she breaks with him.'
common Old World thrush noted for its song
From this reading 'Has Miss Mavis commissioned you to make this inquiry?'
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading 'Has Miss Mavis commissioned you to make this inquiry?'
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading 'For my sake?'
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading 'Never in the world.'
have ownership or possession of
From this reading Jasper turned his eyes from the horizon to my own, and I found a strange expression in them.
a reason for wanting something done
From this reading 'For my sake?'
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading 'To marry her if she breaks with him.'
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading Jasper turned his eyes from the horizon to my own, and I found a strange expression in them.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Jasper turned his eyes from the horizon to my own, and I found a strange expression in them.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Jasper turned his eyes from the horizon to my own, and I found a strange expression in them.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading 'Has Miss Mavis commissioned you to make this inquiry?'
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading 'To marry her if she breaks with him.'
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Jasper turned his eyes from the horizon to my own, and I found a strange expression in them.
in the company of; together with
From this reading 'To marry her if she breaks with him.'
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading 'Never in the world.'
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading 'Has Miss Mavis commissioned you to make this inquiry?'
Chapter 9 of A London Life, and Other Tales by Henry James holds 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 9 holds 425 sentences of A London Life, and Other Tales, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of A London Life, and Other Tales by Henry James exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 9 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 London Life, and Other Tales by Henry James on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5410 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #25500 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #25500, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 450 minutes of reading across 1082 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A London Life, and Other Tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of A London Life, and Other Tales 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 London Life, and Other Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
