Chapter 20 of A Spirit in Prison is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of A Spirit in Prison is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Hermione was very thankful that the Marchesino had gone. She felt that the lunch had been a failure, and was sorry. But she had done her best. Vere and the young man himself had frustrated her, she thought. It was a bore having to entertain any one in the hot weather.
Chapter 20 of A Spirit in Prison is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
cause to be bored
From this reading “It was a bore having to entertain any one in the hot weather.”
provide entertainment for
From this reading “It was a bore having to entertain any one in the hot weather.”
an act that fails
From this reading “She felt that the lunch had been a failure, and was sorry.”
disappointingly unsuccessful
From this reading “Vere and the young man himself had frustrated her, she thought.”
used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
From this reading “It was a bore having to entertain any one in the hot weather.”
take the midday meal
From this reading “She felt that the lunch had been a failure, and was sorry.”
feeling or showing gratitude
From this reading “Hermione was very thankful that the Marchesino had gone.”
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading “It was a bore having to entertain any one in the hot weather.”
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 She felt that the lunch had been a failure, and was sorry.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She felt that the lunch had been a failure, and was sorry.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading It was a bore having to entertain any one in the hot weather.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading She felt that the lunch had been a failure, and was sorry.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading But she had done her best.
cause to be bored
From this reading It was a bore having to entertain any one in the hot weather.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But she had done her best.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading But she had done her best.
provide entertainment for
From this reading It was a bore having to entertain any one in the hot weather.
an act that fails
From this reading She felt that the lunch had been a failure, and was sorry.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading She felt that the lunch had been a failure, and was sorry.
disappointingly unsuccessful
From this reading Vere and the young man himself had frustrated her, she thought.
destroyed or killed
From this reading Hermione was very thankful that the Marchesino had gone.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Hermione was very thankful that the Marchesino had gone.
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading It was a bore having to entertain any one in the hot weather.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading But she had done her best.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hermione was very thankful that the Marchesino had gone.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Vere and the young man himself had frustrated her, she thought.
used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
From this reading It was a bore having to entertain any one in the hot weather.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was a bore having to entertain any one in the hot weather.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a bore having to entertain any one in the hot weather.
take the midday meal
From this reading She felt that the lunch had been a failure, and was sorry.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Vere and the young man himself had frustrated her, she thought.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hermione was very thankful that the Marchesino had gone.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading It was a bore having to entertain any one in the hot weather.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She felt that the lunch had been a failure, and was sorry.
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading She felt that the lunch had been a failure, and was sorry.
feeling or showing gratitude
From this reading Hermione was very thankful that the Marchesino had gone.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Hermione was very thankful that the Marchesino had gone.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Hermione was very thankful that the Marchesino had gone.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Vere and the young man himself had frustrated her, she thought.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was a bore having to entertain any one in the hot weather.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Vere and the young man himself had frustrated her, she thought.
precisely as stated
From this reading Hermione was very thankful that the Marchesino had gone.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Hermione was very thankful that the Marchesino had gone.
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading It was a bore having to entertain any one in the hot weather.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Vere and the young man himself had frustrated her, she thought.
Chapter 20 of A Spirit in Prison by Robert Hichens holds 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 429 sentences of A Spirit in Prison, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of A Spirit in Prison by Robert Hichens exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Spirit in Prison by Robert Hichens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 15677 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2994 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2994, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 3136 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Spirit in Prison section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of A Spirit in Prison 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 Spirit in Prison, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
