Chapter 20 of A Mummer's Tale is here in full — 141 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of A Mummer's Tale is here in full — 141 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
At Easter an event of great importance increased her joy. She was engaged at the Comedie-Francaise. For some time past, without mentioning the subject, she had been trying for this engagement. Her mother had helped her in the steps she had taken. Madame Nanteuil was lovable now that she was loved.
Chapter 20 of A Mummer's Tale is here in full — 141 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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 Christian celebration of the Resurrection of Christ; celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox
From this reading “At Easter an event of great importance increased her joy.”
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading “For some time past, without mentioning the subject, she had been trying for this engagement.”
something that happens at a given place and time
From this reading “At Easter an event of great importance increased her joy.”
past form of “help” — give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading “Her mother had helped her in the steps she had taken.”
the quality of being important and worthy of note
From this reading “At Easter an event of great importance increased her joy.”
made greater in size or amount or degree
From this reading “At Easter an event of great importance increased her joy.”
having characteristics that attract love or affection
From this reading “Madame Nanteuil was lovable now that she was loved.”
-ing form of “mention” — make reference to
From this reading “For some time past, without mentioning the subject, she had been trying for this engagement.”
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.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading At Easter an event of great importance increased her joy.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At Easter an event of great importance increased her joy.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading For some time past, without mentioning the subject, she had been trying for this engagement.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She was engaged at the Comedie-Francaise.
a Christian celebration of the Resurrection of Christ; celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox
From this reading At Easter an event of great importance increased her joy.
having ones attention or mind or energy engaged
From this reading She was engaged at the Comedie-Francaise.
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading For some time past, without mentioning the subject, she had been trying for this engagement.
something that happens at a given place and time
From this reading At Easter an event of great importance increased her joy.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For some time past, without mentioning the subject, she had been trying for this engagement.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading At Easter an event of great importance increased her joy.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading For some time past, without mentioning the subject, she had been trying for this engagement.
past form of “help” — give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading Her mother had helped her in the steps she had taken.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading At Easter an event of great importance increased her joy.
the quality of being important and worthy of note
From this reading At Easter an event of great importance increased her joy.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Her mother had helped her in the steps she had taken.
made greater in size or amount or degree
From this reading At Easter an event of great importance increased her joy.
the emotion of great happiness
From this reading At Easter an event of great importance increased her joy.
having characteristics that attract love or affection
From this reading Madame Nanteuil was lovable now that she was loved.
held dear
From this reading Madame Nanteuil was lovable now that she was loved.
title used for a married Frenchwoman
From this reading Madame Nanteuil was lovable now that she was loved.
-ing form of “mention” — make reference to
From this reading For some time past, without mentioning the subject, she had been trying for this engagement.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Her mother had helped her in the steps she had taken.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Madame Nanteuil was lovable now that she was loved.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Madame Nanteuil was lovable now that she was loved.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading At Easter an event of great importance increased her joy.
the time that has elapsed
From this reading For some time past, without mentioning the subject, she had been trying for this engagement.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was engaged at the Comedie-Francaise.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading For some time past, without mentioning the subject, she had been trying for this engagement.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading Her mother had helped her in the steps she had taken.
the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
From this reading For some time past, without mentioning the subject, she had been trying for this engagement.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading Her mother had helped her in the steps she had taken.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Madame Nanteuil was lovable now that she was loved.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She was engaged at the Comedie-Francaise.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading For some time past, without mentioning the subject, she had been trying for this engagement.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading For some time past, without mentioning the subject, she had been trying for this engagement.
hard to endure
From this reading For some time past, without mentioning the subject, she had been trying for this engagement.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was engaged at the Comedie-Francaise.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading For some time past, without mentioning the subject, she had been trying for this engagement.
Chapter 20 of A Mummer's Tale by Anatole France holds 141 sentences, grouped into 29 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 20 holds 141 sentences of A Mummer's Tale, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of A Mummer's Tale by Anatole France exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 141 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 20 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 Mummer's Tale by Anatole France on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Mummer's Tale section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of A Mummer's Tale 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 Mummer's Tale, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
