Chapter 14 of A Man from the North is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of A Man from the North is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Is that you, Mr. Larch?" He distinctly made out Adeline's head and bust above him. Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below. "It is, Miss Aked," he answered. "The door was open, and so I walked in.
Chapter 14 of A Man from the North is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
a garment of cloth or leather or plastic that is tied about the waist and worn to protect your clothing
From this reading “Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.”
ruin completely
From this reading “He distinctly made out Adeline's head and bust above him.”
clear to the mind; with distinct mental discernment
From this reading “He distinctly made out Adeline's head and bust above him.”
relatively long in duration; tediously protracted
From this reading “Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.”
understanding with difficulty
From this reading “Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.”
wood of a larch tree
From this reading “"Is that you, Mr. Larch?"”
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading “Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.”
compacted by ironing
From this reading “Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.”
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 “Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.”
In this reading “Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.”
In this reading “Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.”
In this reading “Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.”
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.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading He distinctly made out Adeline's head and bust above him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He distinctly made out Adeline's head and bust above him.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It is, Miss Aked," he answered.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He distinctly made out Adeline's head and bust above him.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading "It is, Miss Aked," he answered.
a garment of cloth or leather or plastic that is tied about the waist and worn to protect your clothing
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
ruin completely
From this reading He distinctly made out Adeline's head and bust above him.
clear to the mind; with distinct mental discernment
From this reading He distinctly made out Adeline's head and bust above him.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading "The door was open, and so I walked in.
relatively long in duration; tediously protracted
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
understanding with difficulty
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He distinctly made out Adeline's head and bust above him.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading He distinctly made out Adeline's head and bust above him.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He distinctly made out Adeline's head and bust above him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "The door was open, and so I walked in.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "The door was open, and so I walked in.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Is that you, Mr. Larch?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It is, Miss Aked," he answered.
wood of a larch tree
From this reading "Is that you, Mr. Larch?"
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading He distinctly made out Adeline's head and bust above him.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading "It is, Miss Aked," he answered.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Is that you, Mr. Larch?"
To move from a closed position.
From this reading "The door was open, and so I walked in.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He distinctly made out Adeline's head and bust above him.
above and across; more than
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
compacted by ironing
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "The door was open, and so I walked in.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Is that you, Mr. Larch?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading "The door was open, and so I walked in.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
a Caucasian
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
which person or people
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Her white apron was pressed against the bannisters, as with extended arms and hands grasping the stair-rail she leaned over to see who was below.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Is that you, Mr. Larch?"
Chapter 14 of A Man from the North by Arnold Bennett holds 146 sentences, grouped into 30 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 14 holds 146 sentences of A Man from the North, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of A Man from the North by Arnold Bennett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 146 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 14 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 Man from the North by Arnold Bennett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3372 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #52247 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #52247, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 281 minutes of reading across 675 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Man from the North section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of A Man from the North 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 Man from the North, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
