Chapter 11 of Hester's Counterpart is here in full — 359 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of Hester's Counterpart is here in full — 359 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
After this, Hester Alden believed that school could never be as it had been. The first day proved that she was wrong. Outwardly, life at Dickinson moved on as before. No one appeared to know or care that Hester Alden had been touched to the quick, and that she was very miserable and unhappy. Helen was courtesy itself.
Chapter 11 of Hester's Counterpart is here in full — 359 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/71 · 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 courteous or respectful or considerate act
From this reading “Helen was courtesy itself.”
United States poet noted for her mystical and unrhymed poems (1830-1886)
From this reading “Outwardly, life at Dickinson moved on as before.”
(Greek mythology) the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda who was abducted by Paris; the Greek army sailed to Troy to get her back which resulted in the Trojan War
From this reading “Helen was courtesy itself.”
very unhappy; full of misery
From this reading “No one appeared to know or care that Hester Alden had been touched to the quick, and that she was very miserable and unhappy.”
with respect to the outside
From this reading “Outwardly, life at Dickinson moved on as before.”
established beyond doubt
From this reading “The first day proved that she was wrong.”
having come into contact
From this reading “No one appeared to know or care that Hester Alden had been touched to the quick, and that she was very miserable and unhappy.”
experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent
From this reading “No one appeared to know or care that Hester Alden had been touched to the quick, and that she was very miserable and unhappy.”
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 “The first day proved that she was wrong.”
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.
later than; following
From this reading After this, Hester Alden believed that school could never be as it had been.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading After this, Hester Alden believed that school could never be as it had been.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading No one appeared to know or care that Hester Alden had been touched to the quick, and that she was very miserable and unhappy.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading No one appeared to know or care that Hester Alden had been touched to the quick, and that she was very miserable and unhappy.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading After this, Hester Alden believed that school could never be as it had been.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Outwardly, life at Dickinson moved on as before.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading After this, Hester Alden believed that school could never be as it had been.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading After this, Hester Alden believed that school could never be as it had been.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Outwardly, life at Dickinson moved on as before.
past form of “believe” — accept as true; take to be true
From this reading After this, Hester Alden believed that school could never be as it had been.
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading No one appeared to know or care that Hester Alden had been touched to the quick, and that she was very miserable and unhappy.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading After this, Hester Alden believed that school could never be as it had been.
a courteous or respectful or considerate act
From this reading Helen was courtesy itself.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The first day proved that she was wrong.
United States poet noted for her mystical and unrhymed poems (1830-1886)
From this reading Outwardly, life at Dickinson moved on as before.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading The first day proved that she was wrong.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading After this, Hester Alden believed that school could never be as it had been.
(Greek mythology) the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda who was abducted by Paris; the Greek army sailed to Troy to get her back which resulted in the Trojan War
From this reading Helen was courtesy itself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading After this, Hester Alden believed that school could never be as it had been.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading After this, Hester Alden believed that school could never be as it had been.
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading Helen was courtesy itself.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading No one appeared to know or care that Hester Alden had been touched to the quick, and that she was very miserable and unhappy.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Outwardly, life at Dickinson moved on as before.
very unhappy; full of misery
From this reading No one appeared to know or care that Hester Alden had been touched to the quick, and that she was very miserable and unhappy.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading Outwardly, life at Dickinson moved on as before.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading After this, Hester Alden believed that school could never be as it had been.
not any; not one
From this reading No one appeared to know or care that Hester Alden had been touched to the quick, and that she was very miserable and unhappy.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Outwardly, life at Dickinson moved on as before.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading No one appeared to know or care that Hester Alden had been touched to the quick, and that she was very miserable and unhappy.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading No one appeared to know or care that Hester Alden had been touched to the quick, and that she was very miserable and unhappy.
with respect to the outside
From this reading Outwardly, life at Dickinson moved on as before.
established beyond doubt
From this reading The first day proved that she was wrong.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading No one appeared to know or care that Hester Alden had been touched to the quick, and that she was very miserable and unhappy.
an educational institution
From this reading After this, Hester Alden believed that school could never be as it had been.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The first day proved that she was wrong.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading After this, Hester Alden believed that school could never be as it had been.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The first day proved that she was wrong.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading After this, Hester Alden believed that school could never be as it had been.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading No one appeared to know or care that Hester Alden had been touched to the quick, and that she was very miserable and unhappy.
having come into contact
From this reading No one appeared to know or care that Hester Alden had been touched to the quick, and that she was very miserable and unhappy.
experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent
From this reading No one appeared to know or care that Hester Alden had been touched to the quick, and that she was very miserable and unhappy.
precisely as stated
From this reading No one appeared to know or care that Hester Alden had been touched to the quick, and that she was very miserable and unhappy.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The first day proved that she was wrong.
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading The first day proved that she was wrong.
Chapter 11 of Hester's Counterpart by Jean K. (Jean Katherine) Baird holds 359 sentences, grouped into 72 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 11 holds 359 sentences of Hester's Counterpart, unabridged, divided into 72 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Hester's Counterpart by Jean K. (Jean Katherine) Baird exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 359 sentences, grouped into 72 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 72 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 72 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 11 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.
