Chapter 1 of Conjure wife is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Conjure wife is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
By Fritz Leiber, Jr. "I keep wondering if she knows about Us," said the woman with black button eyes. She played the queen of spades. The queen of hearts trumped the queen of spades. "You can put your mind at rest," said the silver-haired woman sweetly, gathering in the trick.
Chapter 1 of Conjure wife is here in full — 434 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
a round fastener sewn to shirts and coats etc to fit through buttonholes
From this reading “"I keep wondering if she knows about Us," said the woman with black button eyes.”
a group of persons together in one place
From this reading “"You can put your mind at rest," said the silver-haired woman sweetly, gathering in the trick.”
a form of whist in which players avoid winning tricks containing hearts or the queen of spades
From this reading “The queen of hearts trumped the queen of spades.”
plural of “spade” — a playing card in the major suit that has one or more black figures on it
From this reading “She played the queen of spades.”
in an affectionate or loving manner (“sweet” is sometimes a poetic or informal variant of “sweetly”)
From this reading “"You can put your mind at rest," said the silver-haired woman sweetly, gathering in the trick.”
a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading “"You can put your mind at rest," said the silver-haired woman sweetly, gathering in the trick.”
past form of “trump” — produce a sound as if from a trumpet
From this reading “The queen of hearts trumped the queen of spades.”
showing curiosity
From this reading “"I keep wondering if she knows about Us," said the woman with black button eyes.”
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 “"I keep wondering if she knows about Us," said the woman with black button eyes.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "I keep wondering if she knows about Us," said the woman with black button eyes.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "You can put your mind at rest," said the silver-haired woman sweetly, gathering in the trick.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading "I keep wondering if she knows about Us," said the woman with black button eyes.
a round fastener sewn to shirts and coats etc to fit through buttonholes
From this reading "I keep wondering if she knows about Us," said the woman with black button eyes.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By Fritz Leiber, Jr.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "You can put your mind at rest," said the silver-haired woman sweetly, gathering in the trick.
opinion or judgment
From this reading "I keep wondering if she knows about Us," said the woman with black button eyes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Fritz Leiber, Jr.
a group of persons together in one place
From this reading "You can put your mind at rest," said the silver-haired woman sweetly, gathering in the trick.
a form of whist in which players avoid winning tricks containing hearts or the queen of spades
From this reading The queen of hearts trumped the queen of spades.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I keep wondering if she knows about Us," said the woman with black button eyes.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "I keep wondering if she knows about Us," said the woman with black button eyes.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "You can put your mind at rest," said the silver-haired woman sweetly, gathering in the trick.
a son who has the same first name as his father
From this reading By Fritz Leiber, Jr.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading "I keep wondering if she knows about Us," said the woman with black button eyes.
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading "I keep wondering if she knows about Us," said the woman with black button eyes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Fritz Leiber, Jr.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading "You can put your mind at rest," said the silver-haired woman sweetly, gathering in the trick.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She played the queen of spades.
(of games) engaged in
From this reading She played the queen of spades.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading "You can put your mind at rest," said the silver-haired woman sweetly, gathering in the trick.
the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
From this reading She played the queen of spades.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading "You can put your mind at rest," said the silver-haired woman sweetly, gathering in the trick.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I keep wondering if she knows about Us," said the woman with black button eyes.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I keep wondering if she knows about Us," said the woman with black button eyes.
having hair the color of silver
From this reading "You can put your mind at rest," said the silver-haired woman sweetly, gathering in the trick.
plural of “spade” — a playing card in the major suit that has one or more black figures on it
From this reading She played the queen of spades.
in an affectionate or loving manner (“sweet” is sometimes a poetic or informal variant of “sweetly”)
From this reading "You can put your mind at rest," said the silver-haired woman sweetly, gathering in the trick.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "I keep wondering if she knows about Us," said the woman with black button eyes.
a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading "You can put your mind at rest," said the silver-haired woman sweetly, gathering in the trick.
past form of “trump” — produce a sound as if from a trumpet
From this reading The queen of hearts trumped the queen of spades.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "I keep wondering if she knows about Us," said the woman with black button eyes.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "I keep wondering if she knows about Us," said the woman with black button eyes.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading "I keep wondering if she knows about Us," said the woman with black button eyes.
showing curiosity
From this reading "I keep wondering if she knows about Us," said the woman with black button eyes.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You can put your mind at rest," said the silver-haired woman sweetly, gathering in the trick.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You can put your mind at rest," said the silver-haired woman sweetly, gathering in the trick.
Chapter 1 of Conjure wife by Fritz Leiber holds 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 434 sentences of Conjure wife, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Conjure wife by Fritz Leiber exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 434 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 Conjure wife by Fritz Leiber on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4339 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #70288 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #70288, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 361 minutes of reading across 868 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Conjure wife section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Conjure wife 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 Conjure wife, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
