Chapter 4 of Bella Donna: A Novel is here in full — 410 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 Bella Donna: A Novel is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He started. He had launched himself into space with the soul. Now, abruptly, he was tethered to earth in the body. Had he not heard the murmur of a dress announcing the coming of its wearer? He looked towards the second door of the room, which opened probably into a bedroom.
Chapter 4 of Bella Donna: A Novel is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
quickly and without warning
From this reading “Now, abruptly, he was tethered to earth in the body.”
-ing form of “announce” — make known; make an announcement
From this reading “Had he not heard the murmur of a dress announcing the coming of its wearer?”
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading “He looked towards the second door of the room, which opened probably into a bedroom.”
past form of “launch” — set up or found
From this reading “He had launched himself into space with the soul.”
a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech
From this reading “Had he not heard the murmur of a dress announcing the coming of its wearer?”
the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading “He had launched himself into space with the soul.”
confined or restricted with or as if with a rope or chain
From this reading “Now, abruptly, he was tethered to earth in the body.”
a person who wears or carries or displays something as a body covering or accessory
From this reading “Had he not heard the murmur of a dress announcing the coming of its wearer?”
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 Had he not heard the murmur of a dress announcing the coming of its wearer?
quickly and without warning
From this reading Now, abruptly, he was tethered to earth in the body.
-ing form of “announce” — make known; make an announcement
From this reading Had he not heard the murmur of a dress announcing the coming of its wearer?
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading He looked towards the second door of the room, which opened probably into a bedroom.
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading Now, abruptly, he was tethered to earth in the body.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading Had he not heard the murmur of a dress announcing the coming of its wearer?
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading He looked towards the second door of the room, which opened probably into a bedroom.
put on clothes
From this reading Had he not heard the murmur of a dress announcing the coming of its wearer?
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading Now, abruptly, he was tethered to earth in the body.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had launched himself into space with the soul.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He started.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Had he not heard the murmur of a dress announcing the coming of its wearer?
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He had launched himself into space with the soul.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Now, abruptly, he was tethered to earth in the body.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He had launched himself into space with the soul.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Had he not heard the murmur of a dress announcing the coming of its wearer?
past form of “launch” — set up or found
From this reading He had launched himself into space with the soul.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He looked towards the second door of the room, which opened probably into a bedroom.
a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech
From this reading Had he not heard the murmur of a dress announcing the coming of its wearer?
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Had he not heard the murmur of a dress announcing the coming of its wearer?
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now, abruptly, he was tethered to earth in the body.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Had he not heard the murmur of a dress announcing the coming of its wearer?
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading He looked towards the second door of the room, which opened probably into a bedroom.
with considerable certainty; without much doubt
From this reading He looked towards the second door of the room, which opened probably into a bedroom.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading He looked towards the second door of the room, which opened probably into a bedroom.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading He looked towards the second door of the room, which opened probably into a bedroom.
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading He had launched himself into space with the soul.
the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading He had launched himself into space with the soul.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading He started.
confined or restricted with or as if with a rope or chain
From this reading Now, abruptly, he was tethered to earth in the body.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He had launched himself into space with the soul.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Now, abruptly, he was tethered to earth in the body.
in the direction of
From this reading He looked towards the second door of the room, which opened probably into a bedroom.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Now, abruptly, he was tethered to earth in the body.
a person who wears or carries or displays something as a body covering or accessory
From this reading Had he not heard the murmur of a dress announcing the coming of its wearer?
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading He looked towards the second door of the room, which opened probably into a bedroom.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He had launched himself into space with the soul.
Chapter 4 of Bella Donna: A Novel by Robert Hichens holds 410 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 410 sentences of Bella Donna: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Bella Donna: A Novel by Robert Hichens exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 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 Bella Donna: A Novel by Robert Hichens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 13461 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17698 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17698, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2693 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Bella Donna: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of Bella Donna: 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 Bella Donna: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
