Chapter 4 of An Ambitious Woman: A Novel is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of An Ambitious Woman: A Novel is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Josie's tidings left him almost speechless. In a trice his glowing hopes had crumbled to ashes. He had long known Claire by sight. He had, in a way, admired her. But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
Chapter 4 of An Ambitious Woman: A Novel is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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 powdery residue left after the burning of a substance.
From this reading “In a trice his glowing hopes had crumbled to ashes.”
not easily borne; wearing
From this reading “But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.”
past form of “crumble” — fall apart
From this reading “In a trice his glowing hopes had crumbled to ashes.”
the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles
From this reading “But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.”
temporarily incapable of speaking
From this reading “Josie's tidings left him almost speechless.”
information about recent and important events
From this reading “Josie's tidings left him almost speechless.”
raise with a line
From this reading “In a trice his glowing hopes had crumbled to ashes.”
misery resulting from affliction
From this reading “But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.”
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 “Josie's tidings left him almost speechless.”
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 In a trice his glowing hopes had crumbled to ashes.
regarded with admiration
From this reading He had, in a way, admired her.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading Josie's tidings left him almost speechless.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
The powdery residue left after the burning of a substance.
From this reading In a trice his glowing hopes had crumbled to ashes.
not easily borne; wearing
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading He had long known Claire by sight.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He had long known Claire by sight.
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
past form of “crumble” — fall apart
From this reading In a trice his glowing hopes had crumbled to ashes.
the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
highly enthusiastic
From this reading In a trice his glowing hopes had crumbled to ashes.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading In a trice his glowing hopes had crumbled to ashes.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had long known Claire by sight.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He had, in a way, admired her.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Josie's tidings left him almost speechless.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading In a trice his glowing hopes had crumbled to ashes.
plural of “hope” — a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading In a trice his glowing hopes had crumbled to ashes.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In a trice his glowing hopes had crumbled to ashes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Josie's tidings left him almost speechless.
apprehended with certainty
From this reading He had long known Claire by sight.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Josie's tidings left him almost speechless.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading He had long known Claire by sight.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
be shown or be found to be
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
cut with a saw
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading He had long known Claire by sight.
temporarily incapable of speaking
From this reading Josie's tidings left him almost speechless.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
information about recent and important events
From this reading Josie's tidings left him almost speechless.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading In a trice his glowing hopes had crumbled to ashes.
raise with a line
From this reading In a trice his glowing hopes had crumbled to ashes.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading He had, in a way, admired her.
in the company of; together with
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
misery resulting from affliction
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading But she was not of his _monde_, and he saw with woe and dismay that for this reason her company would prove all the more burdensome.
Chapter 4 of An Ambitious Woman: A Novel by Edgar Fawcett holds 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 4 holds 407 sentences of An Ambitious Woman: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of An Ambitious Woman: A Novel by Edgar Fawcett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 4 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 An Ambitious Woman: A Novel by Edgar Fawcett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8595 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38075 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38075, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1719 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through An Ambitious Woman: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of An Ambitious Woman: A Novel 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 An Ambitious Woman: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
