Chapter 23 of First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura. Letting his mother go alone! In that state of trouble! Why, a child might have known better! “She wouldn’t let me, Justin!
Chapter 23 of First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
the part of the day between noon and evening
From this reading “When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.”
feeling or showing anger
From this reading “When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.”
a period of fourteen consecutive days
From this reading “When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.”
apprehended with certainty
From this reading “Why, a child might have known better!”
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading “When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.”
property that is leased or rented out or let
From this reading “Letting his mother go alone!”
the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading “In that state of trouble!”
a source of difficulty
From this reading “In that state of trouble!”
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 “Letting his mother go alone!”
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 When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.
the part of the day between noon and evening
From this reading When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.
Having no one else present.
From this reading Letting his mother go alone!
feeling or showing anger
From this reading When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading Why, a child might have known better!
a young person of either sex
From this reading Why, a child might have known better!
a period of fourteen consecutive days
From this reading When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Letting his mother go alone!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Why, a child might have known better!
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Letting his mother go alone!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In that state of trouble!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.
apprehended with certainty
From this reading Why, a child might have known better!
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading “She wouldn’t let me, Justin!
property that is leased or rented out or let
From this reading Letting his mother go alone!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “She wouldn’t let me, Justin!
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading Why, a child might have known better!
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Letting his mother go alone!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “She wouldn’t let me, Justin!
the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading In that state of trouble!
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.
a source of difficulty
From this reading In that state of trouble!
precisely as stated
From this reading When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.
at the time that
From this reading When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why, a child might have known better!
in the company of; together with
From this reading When Justin, a fortnight later, heard the story of that afternoon, he was very angry with Laura.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “She wouldn’t let me, Justin!
Chapter 23 of First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth by Clemence Dane holds 394 sentences, grouped into 79 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 23 holds 394 sentences of First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth by Clemence Dane exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 394 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 23 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 First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth by Clemence Dane on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7010 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63501 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63501, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 584 minutes of reading across 1402 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth 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 First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
