Chapter 309 of Les Misérables is here in full — 74 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter CCCIX
Chapter 309 of Les Misérables is here in full — 74 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
At that moment, Cosette awoke. Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house. Cosette knew nothing of what was going on in Paris. She had not been there on the preceding evening, and she had already retired to her chamber when Toussaint had said: “It appears that there is a row.”
Chapter 309 of Les Misérables is here in full — 74 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/14 · 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.
third-person singular of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading ““It appears that there is a row.””
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading “At that moment, Cosette awoke.”
a lining applied to the edge of a garment for ornamentation or strengthening
From this reading “Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.”
clean or organized
From this reading “Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.”
existing or coming before
From this reading “She had not been there on the preceding evening, and she had already retired to her chamber when Toussaint had said:”
no longer active in your work or profession
From this reading “She had not been there on the preceding evening, and she had already retired to her chamber when Toussaint had said:”
an arrangement of objects or people side by side in a line
From this reading ““It appears that there is a row.””
not obtrusive or undesirably noticeable
From this reading “Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.”
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 “She had not been there on the preceding evening, and she had already retired to her chamber when Toussaint had said:”
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 Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading She had not been there on the preceding evening, and she had already retired to her chamber when Toussaint had said:
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She had not been there on the preceding evening, and she had already retired to her chamber when Toussaint had said:
third-person singular of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “It appears that there is a row.”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At that moment, Cosette awoke.
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading At that moment, Cosette awoke.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading She had not been there on the preceding evening, and she had already retired to her chamber when Toussaint had said:
a natural or artificial enclosed space
From this reading Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At that moment, Cosette awoke.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.
the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
From this reading Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading She had not been there on the preceding evening, and she had already retired to her chamber when Toussaint had said:
a lining applied to the edge of a garment for ornamentation or strengthening
From this reading Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.
the act of departing
From this reading Cosette knew nothing of what was going on in Paris.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had not been there on the preceding evening, and she had already retired to her chamber when Toussaint had said:
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Cosette knew nothing of what was going on in Paris.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “It appears that there is a row.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “It appears that there is a row.”
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Cosette knew nothing of what was going on in Paris.
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 Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.
a particular point in time
From this reading At that moment, Cosette awoke.
make or become more narrow or restricted
From this reading Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.
clean or organized
From this reading Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She had not been there on the preceding evening, and she had already retired to her chamber when Toussaint had said:
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Cosette knew nothing of what was going on in Paris.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.
the capital and largest city of France; and international center of culture and commerce
From this reading Cosette knew nothing of what was going on in Paris.
existing or coming before
From this reading She had not been there on the preceding evening, and she had already retired to her chamber when Toussaint had said:
no longer active in your work or profession
From this reading She had not been there on the preceding evening, and she had already retired to her chamber when Toussaint had said:
an arrangement of objects or people side by side in a line
From this reading “It appears that there is a row.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading She had not been there on the preceding evening, and she had already retired to her chamber when Toussaint had said:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had not been there on the preceding evening, and she had already retired to her chamber when Toussaint had said:
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading At that moment, Cosette awoke.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.
in or at that place or location
From this reading She had not been there on the preceding evening, and she had already retired to her chamber when Toussaint had said:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She had not been there on the preceding evening, and she had already retired to her chamber when Toussaint had said:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She had not been there on the preceding evening, and she had already retired to her chamber when Toussaint had said:
not obtrusive or undesirably noticeable
From this reading Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Cosette knew nothing of what was going on in Paris.
at the time that
From this reading She had not been there on the preceding evening, and she had already retired to her chamber when Toussaint had said:
in the company of; together with
From this reading Her chamber was narrow, neat, unobtrusive, with a long sash-window, facing the East on the back court-yard of the house.
Chapter 309 of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo holds 74 sentences, grouped into 15 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 309 holds 74 sentences of Les Misérables, unabridged, divided into 15 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 309 of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 74 sentences, grouped into 15 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 15 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 15 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 309 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.
