Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts
Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts

Chapter I

Chapter 1 of Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts is here in full — 455 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts
Context Illustration Reading 1/91 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Ariadne _in Mantua_, _A Romance in Five Acts, by Vernon Lee.
Oxford: B.H. Blackwell 50 and 51 Broad Street.
London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Company.
A.D. MCMIII.
Octavo.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts

Chapter I

Chapter 1 of Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts is here in full — 455 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/91 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Ariadne _in Mantua_, _A Romance in Five Acts, by Vernon Lee.
Line 2
Oxford: B.H. Blackwell 50 and 51 Broad Street.
Line 3
London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Company.
Line 4
A.D. MCMIII.
Line 5
Octavo.

Learner Dictionary

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.

Acts noun US /ækts/

a New Testament book describing the development of the early church from Christ's Ascension to Paul's sojourn at Rome

From this reading “Ariadne _in Mantua_, _A Romance in Five Acts, by Vernon Lee.”

Ariadne noun US /ˌeriˈædni/

beautiful daughter of Minos and Pasiphae; she fell in love with Theseus and gave him the thread with which he found his way out of the Minotaur's labyrinth

From this reading “Ariadne _in Mantua_, _A Romance in Five Acts, by Vernon Lee.”

Hamilton noun US /ˈhæməltən/

Irish mathematician (1806-1865)

From this reading “London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Company.”

Kent noun US /kent/

a county in southeastern England on the English Channel; formerly an Anglo-Saxon kingdom, it was the first to be colonized by the Romans

From this reading “London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Company.”

Lee noun US /liː/

United States filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in America (born in 1957)

From this reading “Ariadne _in Mantua_, _A Romance in Five Acts, by Vernon Lee.”

Mantua noun US /ˈmæntʃuːə/

loose gown of the 17th and 18th centuries

Marshall noun US /ˈmɑːrʃəl/

United States actor (1914-1998)

From this reading “London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Company.”

Oxford noun US /ˈɑːksfərd/

a city in southern England to the northwest of London; site of Oxford University

From this reading “Oxford: B.H. Blackwell 50 and 51 Broad Street.”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

Five Acts noun + noun

In this reading “Ariadne _in Mantua_, _A Romance in Five Acts, by Vernon Lee.”

Broad Street adjective + noun

In this reading “Oxford: B.H. Blackwell 50 and 51 Broad Street.”

All words in this reading · 28

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.

50

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Oxford: B.H. Blackwell 50 and 51 Broad Street.

51

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Oxford: B.H. Blackwell 50 and 51 Broad Street.

AdeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading Ariadne _in Mantua_, _A Romance in Five Acts, by Vernon Lee.

ActsnounUS /ækts/

a New Testament book describing the development of the early church from Christ's Ascension to Paul's sojourn at Rome

From this reading Ariadne _in Mantua_, _A Romance in Five Acts, by Vernon Lee.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading Oxford: B.H. Blackwell 50 and 51 Broad Street.

AriadnenounUS /ˌeriˈædni/

beautiful daughter of Minos and Pasiphae; she fell in love with Theseus and gave him the thread with which he found his way out of the Minotaur's labyrinth

From this reading Ariadne _in Mantua_, _A Romance in Five Acts, by Vernon Lee.

BnounUS /biː/

aerobic rod-shaped spore-producing bacterium; often occurring in chainlike formations; found primarily in soil

From this reading Oxford: B.H. Blackwell 50 and 51 Broad Street.

Blackwell

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Oxford: B.H. Blackwell 50 and 51 Broad Street.

BroadadjectiveUS /brɔːd/

having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other

From this reading Oxford: B.H. Blackwell 50 and 51 Broad Street.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading Ariadne _in Mantua_, _A Romance in Five Acts, by Vernon Lee.

CompanynounUS /ˈkʌmpəniː/

an institution created to conduct business

From this reading London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Company.

DnounUS /diː/

a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets

From this reading A.D. MCMIII.

FivenounUS /faɪv/

the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one

From this reading Ariadne _in Mantua_, _A Romance in Five Acts, by Vernon Lee.

HnounUS /eɪtʃ/

a nonmetallic univalent element that is normally a colorless and odorless highly flammable diatomic gas; the simplest and lightest and most abundant element in the universe

From this reading Oxford: B.H. Blackwell 50 and 51 Broad Street.

HamiltonnounUS /ˈhæməltən/

Irish mathematician (1806-1865)

From this reading London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Company.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading Ariadne _in Mantua_, _A Romance in Five Acts, by Vernon Lee.

KentnounUS /kent/

a county in southeastern England on the English Channel; formerly an Anglo-Saxon kingdom, it was the first to be colonized by the Romans

From this reading London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Company.

LeenounUS /liː/

United States filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in America (born in 1957)

From this reading Ariadne _in Mantua_, _A Romance in Five Acts, by Vernon Lee.

LondonnounUS /ˈlʌndən/

the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center

From this reading London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Company.

MantuanounUS /ˈmæntʃuːə/

loose gown of the 17th and 18th centuries

From this reading Ariadne _in Mantua_, _A Romance in Five Acts, by Vernon Lee.

MarshallnounUS /ˈmɑːrʃəl/

United States actor (1914-1998)

From this reading London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Company.

MCMIII

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A.D. MCMIII.

Octavonoun

the size of a book whose pages are made by folding a sheet of paper three times to form eight leaves

From this reading Octavo.

OxfordnounUS /ˈɑːksfərd/

a city in southern England to the northwest of London; site of Oxford University

From this reading Oxford: B.H. Blackwell 50 and 51 Broad Street.

RomancenounUS /roʊˈmæns/

a relationship between two lovers

From this reading Ariadne _in Mantua_, _A Romance in Five Acts, by Vernon Lee.

Simpkin

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Company.

StreetnounUS /striːt/

a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings

From this reading Oxford: B.H. Blackwell 50 and 51 Broad Street.

Vernon

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ariadne _in Mantua_, _A Romance in Five Acts, by Vernon Lee.

Chapter 1 of Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts by Vernon Lee holds 455 sentences, grouped into 91 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.

What does chapter 1 of Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts contain?

Chapter 1 holds 455 sentences of Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 1 of Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts by Vernon Lee exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 455 sentences, grouped into 91 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.

How do I study chapter 1 of Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts?

Work through the 91 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 91 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.

Can chapter 1 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts

Common questions about reading Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts by Vernon Lee on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts?

Yes. All 876 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37169 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #37169, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts take to read?

About 73 minutes of reading across 176 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts section by section

How to work through Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 2 chapters of Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts

Words and structures a reader meets early in Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Ariadne
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Mantua
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Romance
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Vernon
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Ariadne in Mantua: A Romance in Five Acts; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.