Chapter 12 of Coquette is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Coquette is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Nancy!" she called. "What is it? Aren't you well?" Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body. Upon every face Sally read the same message; the curled lips, the pinched nostrils, all indicated the general strain.
Chapter 12 of Coquette is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
(of hair) making curls or having been made to curl
From this reading “Upon every face Sally read the same message; the curled lips, the pinched nostrils, all indicated the general strain.”
past form of “indicate” — be a signal for or a symptom of
From this reading “Upon every face Sally read the same message; the curled lips, the pinched nostrils, all indicated the general strain.”
a city in northeastern France in Lorraine
From this reading “"Nancy!" she called.”
plural of “nostril” — either one of the two external openings to the nasal cavity in the nose
From this reading “Upon every face Sally read the same message; the curled lips, the pinched nostrils, all indicated the general strain.”
fully extended especially in length
From this reading “Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body.”
sounding as if the nose were pinched
From this reading “Upon every face Sally read the same message; the curled lips, the pinched nostrils, all indicated the general strain.”
witty remark
From this reading “Upon every face Sally read the same message; the curled lips, the pinched nostrils, all indicated the general strain.”
plural of “sob” — a dyspneic condition
From this reading “Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body.”
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 “Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Upon every face Sally read the same message; the curled lips, the pinched nostrils, all indicated the general strain.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Aren't you well?"
weapons considered collectively
From this reading Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body.
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "Nancy!" she called.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body.
(of hair) making curls or having been made to curl
From this reading Upon every face Sally read the same message; the curled lips, the pinched nostrils, all indicated the general strain.
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Upon every face Sally read the same message; the curled lips, the pinched nostrils, all indicated the general strain.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Upon every face Sally read the same message; the curled lips, the pinched nostrils, all indicated the general strain.
applying to all or most members of a category or group
From this reading Upon every face Sally read the same message; the curled lips, the pinched nostrils, all indicated the general strain.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body.
past form of “indicate” — be a signal for or a symptom of
From this reading Upon every face Sally read the same message; the curled lips, the pinched nostrils, all indicated the general strain.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "What is it?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "What is it?
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading Upon every face Sally read the same message; the curled lips, the pinched nostrils, all indicated the general strain.
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 Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body.
a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled
From this reading Upon every face Sally read the same message; the curled lips, the pinched nostrils, all indicated the general strain.
a city in northeastern France in Lorraine
From this reading "Nancy!" she called.
plural of “nostril” — either one of the two external openings to the nasal cavity in the nose
From this reading Upon every face Sally read the same message; the curled lips, the pinched nostrils, all indicated the general strain.
fully extended especially in length
From this reading Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body.
sounding as if the nose were pinched
From this reading Upon every face Sally read the same message; the curled lips, the pinched nostrils, all indicated the general strain.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading Upon every face Sally read the same message; the curled lips, the pinched nostrils, all indicated the general strain.
witty remark
From this reading Upon every face Sally read the same message; the curled lips, the pinched nostrils, all indicated the general strain.
Identical; not different.
From this reading Upon every face Sally read the same message; the curled lips, the pinched nostrils, all indicated the general strain.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Nancy!" she called.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body.
plural of “sob” — a dyspneic condition
From this reading Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body.
(physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces
From this reading Upon every face Sally read the same message; the curled lips, the pinched nostrils, all indicated the general strain.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Nancy put her head upon her outstretched arms, and they could hear the long dreadful sobs that shook her body.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Aren't you well?"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What is it?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Aren't you well?"
Chapter 12 of Coquette by Frank Swinnerton holds 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 12 holds 421 sentences of Coquette, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Coquette by Frank Swinnerton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 12 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 Coquette by Frank Swinnerton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7924 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31005 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31005, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1585 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Coquette section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Coquette 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 Coquette, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
