Chapter 1 of Hester's Counterpart is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Hester's Counterpart is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Debby Alden, to use her own adjective in regard to herself, was not "slack." To this her friends added another term. Debby was "set." There could be no doubt of that. When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.
Chapter 1 of Hester's Counterpart is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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.
past form of “add” — make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading “To this her friends added another term.”
a word that expresses an attribute of something
From this reading “Debby Alden, to use her own adjective in regard to herself, was not "slack."”
recognizable; marked
From this reading “When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.”
the state of being unsure of something
From this reading “There could be no doubt of that.”
(usually preceded by “in”) a detail or point
From this reading “Debby Alden, to use her own adjective in regard to herself, was not "slack."”
not tense or taut
From this reading “Debby Alden, to use her own adjective in regard to herself, was not "slack."”
a word or expression used for some particular thing
From this reading “To this her friends added another term.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one
From this reading “When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.”
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 “When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.”
In this reading “Debby Alden, to use her own adjective in regard to herself, was not "slack."”
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.
past form of “add” — make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading To this her friends added another term.
a word that expresses an attribute of something
From this reading Debby Alden, to use her own adjective in regard to herself, was not "slack."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Debby Alden, to use her own adjective in regard to herself, was not "slack."
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading To this her friends added another term.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There could be no doubt of that.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading There could be no doubt of that.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Debby Alden, to use her own adjective in regard to herself, was not "slack."
recognizable; marked
From this reading When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.
the state of being unsure of something
From this reading There could be no doubt of that.
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading To this her friends added another term.
a young female
From this reading When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Debby Alden, to use her own adjective in regard to herself, was not "slack."
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading Debby Alden, to use her own adjective in regard to herself, was not "slack."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Debby Alden, to use her own adjective in regard to herself, was not "slack."
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 When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.
not any; not one
From this reading There could be no doubt of that.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Debby Alden, to use her own adjective in regard to herself, was not "slack."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There could be no doubt of that.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading Debby Alden, to use her own adjective in regard to herself, was not "slack."
(usually preceded by “in”) a detail or point
From this reading Debby Alden, to use her own adjective in regard to herself, was not "slack."
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Debby was "set."
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.
not tense or taut
From this reading Debby Alden, to use her own adjective in regard to herself, was not "slack."
a word or expression used for some particular thing
From this reading To this her friends added another term.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading There could be no doubt of that.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There could be no doubt of that.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading To this her friends added another term.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Debby Alden, to use her own adjective in regard to herself, was not "slack."
the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one
From this reading When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.
the act of using
From this reading Debby Alden, to use her own adjective in regard to herself, was not "slack."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Debby Alden, to use her own adjective in regard to herself, was not "slack."
at the time that
From this reading When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.
a late time of life
From this reading When Hester was but twelve years old, Debby had decided that the girl should have at least one year at the best boarding-school.
Chapter 1 of Hester's Counterpart by Jean K. (Jean Katherine) Baird holds 208 sentences, grouped into 42 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 208 sentences of Hester's Counterpart, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Hester's Counterpart by Jean K. (Jean Katherine) Baird exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 208 sentences, grouped into 42 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 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 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 Hester's Counterpart by Jean K. (Jean Katherine) Baird on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5085 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26973 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26973, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 423 minutes of reading across 1017 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Hester's Counterpart section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Hester's Counterpart 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 Hester's Counterpart, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
