Chapter 26 of Les Misérables is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVI
Chapter 26 of Les Misérables is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Jean Valjean listened. Not a sound. He gave the door a push. He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering. The door yielded to this pressure, and made an imperceptible and silent movement, which enlarged the opening a little.
Chapter 26 of Les Misérables is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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.
having or expressing desire for something
From this reading “He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.”
(of an organ or body part) excessively enlarged as a result of increased size in the constituent cells
From this reading “The door yielded to this pressure, and made an imperceptible and silent movement, which enlarged the opening a little.”
marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed
From this reading “He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.”
the property possessed by a slope that is very gradual
From this reading “He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.”
impossible or difficult to perceive by the mind or senses
From this reading “The door yielded to this pressure, and made an imperceptible and silent movement, which enlarged the opening a little.”
move with force
From this reading “He gave the door a push.”
the extreme end of something; especially something pointed
From this reading “He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.”
past form of “yield” — be the cause or source of
From this reading “The door yielded to this pressure, and made an imperceptible and silent movement, which enlarged the opening a little.”
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.
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 Not a sound.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading The door yielded to this pressure, and made an imperceptible and silent movement, which enlarged the opening a little.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.
feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.
having or expressing desire for something
From this reading He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading He gave the door a push.
(of an organ or body part) excessively enlarged as a result of increased size in the constituent cells
From this reading The door yielded to this pressure, and made an imperceptible and silent movement, which enlarged the opening a little.
a movement into or inward
From this reading He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.
feel or handle with the fingers
From this reading He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.
marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed
From this reading He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading He gave the door a push.
the property possessed by a slope that is very gradual
From this reading He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.
in a gradual manner
From this reading He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He gave the door a push.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.
impossible or difficult to perceive by the mind or senses
From this reading The door yielded to this pressure, and made an imperceptible and silent movement, which enlarged the opening a little.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.
a coarse durable twill-weave cotton fabric
From this reading Jean Valjean listened.
without good reason
From this reading He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading Jean Valjean listened.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The door yielded to this pressure, and made an imperceptible and silent movement, which enlarged the opening a little.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading The door yielded to this pressure, and made an imperceptible and silent movement, which enlarged the opening a little.
a change of position that does not entail a change of location
From this reading The door yielded to this pressure, and made an imperceptible and silent movement, which enlarged the opening a little.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Not a sound.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.
an open or empty space in or between things
From this reading The door yielded to this pressure, and made an imperceptible and silent movement, which enlarged the opening a little.
the force applied to a unit area of surface; measured in pascals (SI unit) or in dynes (cgs unit)
From this reading The door yielded to this pressure, and made an imperceptible and silent movement, which enlarged the opening a little.
move with force
From this reading He gave the door a push.
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.
marked by absence of sound
From this reading The door yielded to this pressure, and made an imperceptible and silent movement, which enlarged the opening a little.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading Not a sound.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He gave the door a push.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading The door yielded to this pressure, and made an imperceptible and silent movement, which enlarged the opening a little.
the extreme end of something; especially something pointed
From this reading He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The door yielded to this pressure, and made an imperceptible and silent movement, which enlarged the opening a little.
lacking a sense of security or affording no ease or reassurance
From this reading He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jean Valjean listened.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He pushed it gently with the tip of his finger, lightly, with the furtive and uneasy gentleness of a cat which is desirous of entering.
past form of “yield” — be the cause or source of
From this reading The door yielded to this pressure, and made an imperceptible and silent movement, which enlarged the opening a little.
Chapter 26 of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo holds 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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 26 holds 79 sentences of Les Misérables, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 26 of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 26 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 Les Misérables by Victor Hugo on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Les Misérables section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Les Misérables 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 Les Misérables, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
