Chapter 23 of Asphodel is here in full — 233 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of Asphodel is here in full — 233 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
‘AND COME AGEN, BE IT BY DAY OR NIGHT.’ The next three days passed somewhat slowly at South Hill. Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence. Life without him hung heavily. She missed him at all those accustomed hours which they had spent together.
Chapter 23 of Asphodel is here in full — 233 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/46 · 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 state of being absent
From this reading “Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.”
commonly used or practiced; usual
From this reading “She missed him at all those accustomed hours which they had spent together.”
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading “Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.”
adjust for
From this reading “Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.”
possessive form of “daphne” — any of several ornamental shrubs with shiny mostly evergreen leaves and clusters of small bell-shaped flowers
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading “Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.”
to a considerable degree
From this reading “Life without him hung heavily.”
not caught with the senses or the mind
From this reading “She missed him at all those accustomed hours which they had spent together.”
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 “The next three days passed somewhat slowly at South Hill.”
In this reading “Life without him hung heavily.”
In this reading “Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.”
In this reading “Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.”
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.
the state of being absent
From this reading Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.
commonly used or practiced; usual
From this reading She missed him at all those accustomed hours which they had spent together.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘AND COME AGEN, BE IT BY DAY OR NIGHT.’
(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 She missed him at all those accustomed hours which they had spent together.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading ‘AND COME AGEN, BE IT BY DAY OR NIGHT.’
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The next three days passed somewhat slowly at South Hill.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading ‘AND COME AGEN, BE IT BY DAY OR NIGHT.’
showing who or what does the action
From this reading ‘AND COME AGEN, BE IT BY DAY OR NIGHT.’
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading ‘AND COME AGEN, BE IT BY DAY OR NIGHT.’
adjust for
From this reading Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.
possessive form of “daphne” — any of several ornamental shrubs with shiny mostly evergreen leaves and clusters of small bell-shaped flowers
From this reading Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading ‘AND COME AGEN, BE IT BY DAY OR NIGHT.’
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading The next three days passed somewhat slowly at South Hill.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.
divisible by two
From this reading Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She missed him at all those accustomed hours which they had spent together.
to a considerable degree
From this reading Life without him hung heavily.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.
a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading The next three days passed somewhat slowly at South Hill.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Life without him hung heavily.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading She missed him at all those accustomed hours which they had spent together.
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading Life without him hung heavily.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading ‘AND COME AGEN, BE IT BY DAY OR NIGHT.’
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Life without him hung heavily.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.
not caught with the senses or the mind
From this reading She missed him at all those accustomed hours which they had spent together.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading The next three days passed somewhat slowly at South Hill.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading ‘AND COME AGEN, BE IT BY DAY OR NIGHT.’
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading ‘AND COME AGEN, BE IT BY DAY OR NIGHT.’
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading The next three days passed somewhat slowly at South Hill.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She missed him at all those accustomed hours which they had spent together.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading The next three days passed somewhat slowly at South Hill.
to a small degree or extent
From this reading The next three days passed somewhat slowly at South Hill.
the region of the United States lying to the south of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading The next three days passed somewhat slowly at South Hill.
depleted of energy, force, or strength
From this reading She missed him at all those accustomed hours which they had spent together.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The next three days passed somewhat slowly at South Hill.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She missed him at all those accustomed hours which they had spent together.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading She missed him at all those accustomed hours which they had spent together.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading The next three days passed somewhat slowly at South Hill.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading She missed him at all those accustomed hours which they had spent together.
disregarding your own advantages and welfare over those of others
From this reading Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Unselfish as Madoline was, even her delight in Daphne’s engagement could not altogether compensate for Gerald’s absence.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading She missed him at all those accustomed hours which they had spent together.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Life without him hung heavily.
Chapter 23 of Asphodel by M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon holds 233 sentences, grouped into 47 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 23 holds 233 sentences of Asphodel, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of Asphodel by M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 233 sentences, grouped into 47 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 47 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 47 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 23 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 Asphodel by M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9175 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #75506 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #75506, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1835 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Asphodel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of Asphodel 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 Asphodel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
