Chapter 1 of A Practical Novelist is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of A Practical Novelist is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Author of 'Perfervid,' 'Scaramouch in Naxos,' etc. 'WELL, but the novel is played out, Carry. It has run to seed. Anybody can get the seed; anybody can sow it. If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'
Chapter 1 of A Practical Novelist is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading “Author of 'Perfervid,' 'Scaramouch in Naxos,' etc.”
the state of being employed or having a job
From this reading “If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'”
producing a sizeable profit
From this reading “If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'”
the property resulting from being or relating to the greater in number of two parts; the main part
From this reading “If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'”
an extended fictional work in prose; usually in the form of a story
From this reading “'WELL, but the novel is played out, Carry.”
a stock character in commedia dell'arte depicted as a boastful coward
From this reading “Author of 'Perfervid,' 'Scaramouch in Naxos,' etc.”
a small hard fruit
From this reading “It has run to seed.”
place (seeds) in or on the ground for future growth
From this reading “Anybody can get the seed; anybody can sow it.”
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.
continue a certain state, condition, or activity
In this reading “If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'”
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 If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'
any person at all
From this reading Anybody can get the seed; anybody can sow it.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading Author of 'Perfervid,' 'Scaramouch in Naxos,' etc.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'
enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading 'WELL, but the novel is played out, Carry.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Anybody can get the seed; anybody can sow it.
move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading 'WELL, but the novel is played out, Carry.
the state of being employed or having a job
From this reading If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Author of 'Perfervid,' 'Scaramouch in Naxos,' etc.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Anybody can get the seed; anybody can sow it.
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It has run to seed.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Author of 'Perfervid,' 'Scaramouch in Naxos,' etc.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'WELL, but the novel is played out, Carry.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It has run to seed.
producing a sizeable profit
From this reading If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'
the property resulting from being or relating to the greater in number of two parts; the main part
From this reading If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Author of 'Perfervid,' 'Scaramouch in Naxos,' etc.
an extended fictional work in prose; usually in the form of a story
From this reading 'WELL, but the novel is played out, Carry.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Author of 'Perfervid,' 'Scaramouch in Naxos,' etc.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading 'WELL, but the novel is played out, Carry.
characterized by intense emotion
From this reading Author of 'Perfervid,' 'Scaramouch in Naxos,' etc.
(of games) engaged in
From this reading 'WELL, but the novel is played out, Carry.
a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
From this reading If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading It has run to seed.
a stock character in commedia dell'arte depicted as a boastful coward
From this reading Author of 'Perfervid,' 'Scaramouch in Naxos,' etc.
a small hard fruit
From this reading It has run to seed.
in the near future
From this reading If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'
place (seeds) in or on the ground for future growth
From this reading Anybody can get the seed; anybody can sow it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading 'WELL, but the novel is played out, Carry.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It has run to seed.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading 'WELL, but the novel is played out, Carry.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading If it goes on at this rate, novel-writers will soon be in a majority, and novel-reading will become a lucrative employment.'
Chapter 1 of A Practical Novelist by John Davidson holds 164 sentences, grouped into 33 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 164 sentences of A Practical Novelist, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of A Practical Novelist by John Davidson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 164 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 Practical Novelist by John Davidson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1813 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35313 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35313, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 151 minutes of reading across 363 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Practical Novelist section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of A Practical Novelist 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 Practical Novelist, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
