Chapter 3 of A Royal Prisoner is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of A Royal Prisoner is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom. Suddenly she was awakened by a loud noise. Still half asleep, she sat up listening. The sounds came from the stairs. Mechanically Susy glanced at the clock, which marked the quarter after three.
Chapter 3 of A Royal Prisoner is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
aroused or activated
From this reading “Suddenly she was awakened by a loud noise.”
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading “THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.”
a timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading “Mechanically Susy glanced at the clock, which marked the quarter after three.”
a person who loves someone or is loved by someone
From this reading “THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.”
strongly marked; easily noticeable
From this reading “Mechanically Susy glanced at the clock, which marked the quarter after three.”
in a mechanical manner; by a mechanism
From this reading “Mechanically Susy glanced at the clock, which marked the quarter after three.”
European strong-scented perennial herb with grey-green bitter-tasting leaves; an irritant similar to poison ivy
From this reading “THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.”
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
From this reading “THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.”
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 Suddenly she was awakened by a loud noise.
later than; following
From this reading Mechanically Susy glanced at the clock, which marked the quarter after three.
in a state of sleep
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Mechanically Susy glanced at the clock, which marked the quarter after three.
aroused or activated
From this reading Suddenly she was awakened by a loud noise.
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Suddenly she was awakened by a loud noise.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The sounds came from the stairs.
a timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading Mechanically Susy glanced at the clock, which marked the quarter after three.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
start firing a weapon
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The sounds came from the stairs.
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading Mechanically Susy glanced at the clock, which marked the quarter after three.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading Still half asleep, she sat up listening.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading Still half asleep, she sat up listening.
characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity
From this reading Suddenly she was awakened by a loud noise.
a person who loves someone or is loved by someone
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
strongly marked; easily noticeable
From this reading Mechanically Susy glanced at the clock, which marked the quarter after three.
in a mechanical manner; by a mechanism
From this reading Mechanically Susy glanced at the clock, which marked the quarter after three.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
From this reading Suddenly she was awakened by a loud noise.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
one of four equal parts
From this reading Mechanically Susy glanced at the clock, which marked the quarter after three.
of or relating to or indicative of or issued or performed by a king or queen or other monarch
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
European strong-scented perennial herb with grey-green bitter-tasting leaves; an irritant similar to poison ivy
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Still half asleep, she sat up listening.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Suddenly she was awakened by a loud noise.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
plural of “sound” — the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading The sounds came from the stairs.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading The sounds came from the stairs.
not in physical motion
From this reading Still half asleep, she sat up listening.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading Suddenly she was awakened by a loud noise.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Mechanically Susy glanced at the clock, which marked the quarter after three.
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Still half asleep, she sat up listening.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU Susy d'Orsel, tired of waiting for her royal lover, was sound asleep before the fire in her bedroom.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Mechanically Susy glanced at the clock, which marked the quarter after three.
Chapter 3 of A Royal Prisoner by Pierre Souvestre holds 192 sentences, grouped into 39 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 3 holds 192 sentences of A Royal Prisoner, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of A Royal Prisoner by Pierre Souvestre exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 192 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 3 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 Royal Prisoner by Pierre Souvestre on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3849 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #27789 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #27789, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 320 minutes of reading across 770 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Royal Prisoner section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of A Royal Prisoner 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 Royal Prisoner, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
