Chapter 1 of A Love Story is here in full — 70 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of A Love Story is here in full — 70 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Family. "It was a vast and venerable pile." "Oh, may'st thou ever be as now thou art, Nor unbeseem the promise of thy spring." The mansion in which dwelt the Delmés was one of wide and extensive range. Its centre slightly receded, leaving a wing on either side.
Chapter 1 of A Love Story is here in full — 70 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/14 · 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.
inflected form of “dwell” — think moodily or anxiously about something
From this reading “The mansion in which dwelt the Delmés was one of wide and extensive range.”
large in spatial extent or range or scope or quantity
From this reading “The mansion in which dwelt the Delmés was one of wide and extensive range.”
(astrology) one of 12 equal areas into which the zodiac is divided
From this reading “The mansion in which dwelt the Delmés was one of wide and extensive range.”
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading “"It was a vast and venerable pile."”
an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control: "the range of a supersonic jet"
From this reading “The mansion in which dwelt the Delmés was one of wide and extensive range.”
past form of “recede” — pull back or move away or backward
From this reading “Its centre slightly receded, leaving a wing on either side.”
impressive by reason of age
From this reading “"It was a vast and venerable pile."”
a movable organ for flying (one of a pair)
From this reading “Its centre slightly receded, leaving a wing on either side.”
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 "It was a vast and venerable pile."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "It was a vast and venerable pile."
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading "Oh, may'st thou ever be as now thou art, Nor unbeseem the promise of thy spring."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Oh, may'st thou ever be as now thou art, Nor unbeseem the promise of thy spring."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Oh, may'st thou ever be as now thou art, Nor unbeseem the promise of thy spring."
a low-lying region in central France
From this reading Its centre slightly receded, leaving a wing on either side.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The mansion in which dwelt the Delmés was one of wide and extensive range.
inflected form of “dwell” — think moodily or anxiously about something
From this reading The mansion in which dwelt the Delmés was one of wide and extensive range.
one or the other of two
From this reading Its centre slightly receded, leaving a wing on either side.
at any time
From this reading "Oh, may'st thou ever be as now thou art, Nor unbeseem the promise of thy spring."
large in spatial extent or range or scope or quantity
From this reading The mansion in which dwelt the Delmés was one of wide and extensive range.
a social unit living together
From this reading The Family.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The mansion in which dwelt the Delmés was one of wide and extensive range.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It was a vast and venerable pile."
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Its centre slightly receded, leaving a wing on either side.
the act of departing
From this reading Its centre slightly receded, leaving a wing on either side.
(astrology) one of 12 equal areas into which the zodiac is divided
From this reading The mansion in which dwelt the Delmés was one of wide and extensive range.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh, may'st thou ever be as now thou art, Nor unbeseem the promise of thy spring."
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading "Oh, may'st thou ever be as now thou art, Nor unbeseem the promise of thy spring."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Oh, may'st thou ever be as now thou art, Nor unbeseem the promise of thy spring."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Oh, may'st thou ever be as now thou art, Nor unbeseem the promise of thy spring."
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, may'st thou ever be as now thou art, Nor unbeseem the promise of thy spring."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Its centre slightly receded, leaving a wing on either side.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The mansion in which dwelt the Delmés was one of wide and extensive range.
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading "It was a vast and venerable pile."
make a promise or commitment
From this reading "Oh, may'st thou ever be as now thou art, Nor unbeseem the promise of thy spring."
an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control: "the range of a supersonic jet"
From this reading The mansion in which dwelt the Delmés was one of wide and extensive range.
past form of “recede” — pull back or move away or backward
From this reading Its centre slightly receded, leaving a wing on either side.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading Its centre slightly receded, leaving a wing on either side.
to a small degree or extent
From this reading Its centre slightly receded, leaving a wing on either side.
the season of growth
From this reading "Oh, may'st thou ever be as now thou art, Nor unbeseem the promise of thy spring."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Family.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading "Oh, may'st thou ever be as now thou art, Nor unbeseem the promise of thy spring."
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading "Oh, may'st thou ever be as now thou art, Nor unbeseem the promise of thy spring."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh, may'st thou ever be as now thou art, Nor unbeseem the promise of thy spring."
unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope
From this reading "It was a vast and venerable pile."
impressive by reason of age
From this reading "It was a vast and venerable pile."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "It was a vast and venerable pile."
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading The mansion in which dwelt the Delmés was one of wide and extensive range.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading The mansion in which dwelt the Delmés was one of wide and extensive range.
a movable organ for flying (one of a pair)
From this reading Its centre slightly receded, leaving a wing on either side.
Chapter 1 of A Love Story by William Harvey Christie holds 70 sentences, grouped into 14 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 70 sentences of A Love Story, unabridged, divided into 14 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of A Love Story by William Harvey Christie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 70 sentences, grouped into 14 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 14 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 14 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 Love Story by William Harvey Christie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3919 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8883 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8883, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 326 minutes of reading across 784 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Love Story section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of A Love Story 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 Love Story, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
