Chapter 1 of A Wife's Duty: A Tale is here in full — 444 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of A Wife's Duty: A Tale is here in full — 444 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A WIFE'S DUTY. ["Dearest Helen! why should we ever leave this paradise of sweets?"] "There is no killing like that which kills the heart." SHAKSPEARE. BEING A CONTINUATION OF A "WOMAN'S LOVE."
Chapter 1 of A Wife's Duty: A Tale is here in full — 444 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
the act of continuing an activity without interruption
From this reading “BEING A CONTINUATION OF A "WOMAN'S LOVE."”
a beloved person; used as terms of endearment
From this reading “["Dearest Helen! why should we ever leave this paradise of sweets?"]”
an event that causes someone to die
From this reading “"There is no killing like that which kills the heart."”
plural of “kill” — the act of terminating a life
From this reading “"There is no killing like that which kills the heart."”
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading “["Dearest Helen! why should we ever leave this paradise of sweets?"]”
plural of “sweet” — English phonetician; one of the founders of modern phonetics (1845-1912)
From this reading “["Dearest Helen! why should we ever leave this paradise of sweets?"]”
possessive form of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading “A WIFE'S DUTY.”
possessive form of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading “BEING A CONTINUATION OF A "WOMAN'S LOVE."”
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.
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 A WIFE'S DUTY.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading BEING A CONTINUATION OF A "WOMAN'S LOVE."
the act of continuing an activity without interruption
From this reading BEING A CONTINUATION OF A "WOMAN'S LOVE."
a beloved person; used as terms of endearment
From this reading ["Dearest Helen! why should we ever leave this paradise of sweets?"]
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading A WIFE'S DUTY.
at any time
From this reading ["Dearest Helen! why should we ever leave this paradise of sweets?"]
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading "There is no killing like that which kills the heart."
(Greek mythology) the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda who was abducted by Paris; the Greek army sailed to Troy to get her back which resulted in the Trojan War
From this reading ["Dearest Helen! why should we ever leave this paradise of sweets?"]
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "There is no killing like that which kills the heart."
an event that causes someone to die
From this reading "There is no killing like that which kills the heart."
plural of “kill” — the act of terminating a life
From this reading "There is no killing like that which kills the heart."
go away from a place
From this reading ["Dearest Helen! why should we ever leave this paradise of sweets?"]
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "There is no killing like that which kills the heart."
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading BEING A CONTINUATION OF A "WOMAN'S LOVE."
not any; not one
From this reading "There is no killing like that which kills the heart."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ["Dearest Helen! why should we ever leave this paradise of sweets?"]
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading ["Dearest Helen! why should we ever leave this paradise of sweets?"]
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SHAKSPEARE.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading ["Dearest Helen! why should we ever leave this paradise of sweets?"]
plural of “sweet” — English phonetician; one of the founders of modern phonetics (1845-1912)
From this reading ["Dearest Helen! why should we ever leave this paradise of sweets?"]
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "There is no killing like that which kills the heart."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "There is no killing like that which kills the heart."
in or at that place or location
From this reading "There is no killing like that which kills the heart."
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading ["Dearest Helen! why should we ever leave this paradise of sweets?"]
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading ["Dearest Helen! why should we ever leave this paradise of sweets?"]
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading "There is no killing like that which kills the heart."
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading ["Dearest Helen! why should we ever leave this paradise of sweets?"]
possessive form of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading A WIFE'S DUTY.
possessive form of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading BEING A CONTINUATION OF A "WOMAN'S LOVE."
Chapter 1 of A Wife's Duty: A Tale by Amelia Opie holds 444 sentences, grouped into 89 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 444 sentences of A Wife's Duty: A Tale, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of A Wife's Duty: A Tale by Amelia Opie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 444 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 Wife's Duty: A Tale by Amelia Opie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2154 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35294 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35294, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 179 minutes of reading across 431 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Wife's Duty: A Tale section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of A Wife's Duty: A 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 Wife's Duty: A Tale, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
