Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Gowrie is here in full — 56 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE KING'S PLOT. BY G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ. LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO. STATIONERS' HALL COURT. MDCCCXLVIII.
Gowrie
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Gowrie is here in full — 56 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
English subtitles · tap any word to listen
1 / 5
THE
KING'S
PLOT.
BY
G.
P.
R.
JAMES,
ESQ.
LONDON:
SIMPKIN,
MARSHALL,
AND
CO.
STATIONERS'
HALL
COURT.
MDCCCXLVIII.
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Gowrie
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Gowrie is here in full — 56 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/11 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
Line 1
THE
KING'S
PLOT.
/ðə kɪŋz plɑːt/
Line 2
BY
G.
P.
R.
JAMES,
ESQ.
Line 3
LONDON:
SIMPKIN,
MARSHALL,
AND
CO.
Line 4
STATIONERS'
HALL
COURT.
/ˈsteɪʃənərz hɔːl kɔːrt/
Line 5
MDCCCXLVIII.
Learner Dictionary
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.
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading “STATIONERS' HALL COURT.”
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading “STATIONERS' HALL COURT.”
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading “BY G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ.”
king's
noun
US /kɪŋz/
possessive form of “king” — a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading “THE KING'S PLOT.”
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading “LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO.”
marshall
noun
US /ˈmɑːrʃəl/
United States actor (1914-1998)
From this reading “LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO.”
plot
noun
US /plɑːt/
a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal)
From this reading “THE KING'S PLOT.”
stationers
noun
US /ˈsteɪʃənərz/
plural of “stationer” — a merchant who sells writing materials and office supplies
From this reading “STATIONERS' HALL COURT.”
Word partnerships in these lines
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.
All words in this reading · 18
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading BY G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ.
COnounUS /koʊ/
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO.
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading STATIONERS' HALL COURT.
ESQnoun
a title of respect for a member of the English gentry ranking just below a knight; placed after the name
From this reading BY G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ.
a metric unit of weight equal to one thousandth of a kilogram
From this reading BY G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading STATIONERS' HALL COURT.
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading BY G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ.
KING'SnounUS /kɪŋz/
possessive form of “king” — a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading THE KING'S PLOT.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO.
MARSHALLnounUS /ˈmɑːrʃəl/
United States actor (1914-1998)
From this reading LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO.
MDCCCXLVIII
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MDCCCXLVIII.
a multivalent nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family that occurs commonly in inorganic phosphate rocks and as organic phosphates in all living cells; is highly reactive and occurs in several allotropic forms
From this reading BY G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ.
PLOTnounUS /plɑːt/
a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal)
From this reading THE KING'S PLOT.
a unit of radiation exposure; the dose of ionizing radiation that will produce 1 electrostatic unit of electricity in 1 cc of dry air
From this reading BY G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ.
SIMPKIN
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO.
STATIONERSnounUS /ˈsteɪʃənərz/
plural of “stationer” — a merchant who sells writing materials and office supplies
From this reading STATIONERS' HALL COURT.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE KING'S PLOT.
Chapter 1 of Gowrie by G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James holds 56 sentences, grouped into 12 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.
What does chapter 1 of Gowrie contain?
Chapter 1 holds 56 sentences of Gowrie, unabridged, divided into 12 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Gowrie by G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 56 sentences, grouped into 12 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.
How do I study chapter 1 of Gowrie?
Work through the 12 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 12 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.
Can chapter 1 be read aloud to me?
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.
Questions about reading Gowrie
Common questions about reading Gowrie by G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Is this the complete text of Gowrie?
Yes. All 5774 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50518 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Which edition of Gowrie is used?
Project Gutenberg eBook #50518, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
How long does Gowrie take to read?
About 481 minutes of reading across 1155 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to read Gowrie section by section
How to work through Gowrie section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
-
Open a chapter
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Gowrie to begin.
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Read one section
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
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Listen and tap
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Vocabulary met early in Gowrie
Words and structures a reader meets early in Gowrie, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
- King's
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of Gowrie; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- James
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of Gowrie; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- London
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of Gowrie; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Simpkin
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of Gowrie; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.