Chapter 1 of Confessions of a Young Lady is here in full — 3748 sentences across 750 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Confessions of a Young Lady is here in full — 3748 sentences across 750 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"The Beetle," etc. As a small girl I must have been a curiosity. At least I hope so. Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it. To this hour I am a creature of impulse.
Chapter 1 of Confessions of a Young Lady is here in full — 3748 sentences across 750 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/749 · 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.
approximating the statistical norm or average or expected value
From this reading “Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.”
insect having biting mouthparts and front wings modified to form horny covers overlying the membranous rear wings
From this reading “"The Beetle," etc.”
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading “To this hour I am a creature of impulse.”
a state in which you want to learn more about something
From this reading “As a small girl I must have been a curiosity.”
plural of “guardian” — a person who cares for persons or property
From this reading “Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.”
an instinctive motive
From this reading “To this hour I am a creature of impulse.”
plural of “parent” — a father or mother; one who begets or one who gives birth to or nurtures and raises a child; a relative who plays the role of guardian
From this reading “Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.”
plural of “person” — a human being
From this reading “Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.”
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 As a small girl I must have been a curiosity.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading To this hour I am a creature of impulse.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As a small girl I must have been a curiosity.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At least I hope so.
approximating the statistical norm or average or expected value
From this reading Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.
for the reason that
From this reading Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading As a small girl I must have been a curiosity.
insect having biting mouthparts and front wings modified to form horny covers overlying the membranous rear wings
From this reading "The Beetle," etc.
a young person of either sex
From this reading Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading To this hour I am a creature of impulse.
a state in which you want to learn more about something
From this reading As a small girl I must have been a curiosity.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "The Beetle," etc.
a young female
From this reading As a small girl I must have been a curiosity.
plural of “guardian” — a person who cares for persons or property
From this reading Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading As a small girl I must have been a curiosity.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading At least I hope so.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading To this hour I am a creature of impulse.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading As a small girl I must have been a curiosity.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.
an instinctive motive
From this reading To this hour I am a creature of impulse.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading At least I hope so.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading As a small girl I must have been a curiosity.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.
and nothing more
From this reading Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.
plural of “parent” — a father or mother; one who begets or one who gives birth to or nurtures and raises a child; a relative who plays the role of guardian
From this reading Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.
plural of “person” — a human being
From this reading Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading As a small girl I must have been a curiosity.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading At least I hope so.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "The Beetle," etc.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading To this hour I am a creature of impulse.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To this hour I am a creature of impulse.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Because if I was only an average child what a time parents, and guardians, and schoolmistresses, and those sort of persons, must have of it.
Chapter 1 of Confessions of a Young Lady by Richard Marsh holds 3748 sentences, grouped into 750 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 1 holds 3748 sentences of Confessions of a Young Lady, unabridged, divided into 750 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Confessions of a Young Lady by Richard Marsh exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 3748 sentences, grouped into 750 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 750 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 750 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 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.
Common questions about reading Confessions of a Young Lady by Richard Marsh on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6926 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40354 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40354, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 577 minutes of reading across 1386 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Confessions of a Young Lady section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Confessions of a Young Lady 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 Confessions of a Young Lady, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
