Chapter 1 of Amusement Only is here in full — 227 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Amusement Only is here in full — 227 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE DUCHESS IS LOST. "Has the Duchess returned?" Knowles came further into the room. He had a letter on a salver. When the Duke had taken it, Knowles still lingered.
Chapter 1 of Amusement Only is here in full — 227 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/45 · 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 wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right
From this reading “THE DUCHESS IS LOST.”
a British peer of the highest rank
From this reading “When the Duke had taken it, Knowles still lingered.”
to or at a greater extent or degree or a more advanced stage (“further” is used more often than “farther” in this abstract sense)
From this reading “Knowles came further into the room.”
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading “He had a letter on a salver.”
past form of “linger” — remain present although waning or gradually dying
From this reading “When the Duke had taken it, Knowles still lingered.”
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading “THE DUCHESS IS LOST.”
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading “"Has the Duchess returned?"”
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading “When the Duke had taken it, Knowles still lingered.”
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.
In this reading “Knowles came further into the room.”
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 He had a letter on a salver.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Knowles came further into the room.
the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right
From this reading THE DUCHESS IS LOST.
a British peer of the highest rank
From this reading When the Duke had taken it, Knowles still lingered.
to or at a greater extent or degree or a more advanced stage (“further” is used more often than “farther” in this abstract sense)
From this reading Knowles came further into the room.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had a letter on a salver.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Has the Duchess returned?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had a letter on a salver.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Knowles came further into the room.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE DUCHESS IS LOST.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading When the Duke had taken it, Knowles still lingered.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Knowles came further into the room.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading He had a letter on a salver.
past form of “linger” — remain present although waning or gradually dying
From this reading When the Duke had taken it, Knowles still lingered.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading THE DUCHESS IS LOST.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He had a letter on a salver.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading "Has the Duchess returned?"
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Knowles came further into the room.
a tray (or large plate) for serving food or drinks; usually made of silver
From this reading He had a letter on a salver.
not in physical motion
From this reading When the Duke had taken it, Knowles still lingered.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading When the Duke had taken it, Knowles still lingered.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE DUCHESS IS LOST.
at the time that
From this reading When the Duke had taken it, Knowles still lingered.
Chapter 1 of Amusement Only by Richard Marsh holds 227 sentences, grouped into 46 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 227 sentences of Amusement Only, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Amusement Only by Richard Marsh exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 227 sentences, grouped into 46 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 46 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 46 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 Amusement Only by Richard Marsh on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6699 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38188 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38188, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 558 minutes of reading across 1340 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Amusement Only section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of Amusement Only 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 Amusement Only, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
