Chapter 14 of Lady Lilith is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of Lady Lilith is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was a heartless, horrible letter. If Barbara had been invited to the wedding, she would have refused to go. She wished that she _had_ been invited.... Yet Sonia was only doing what she had failed to do. Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.
Chapter 14 of Lady Lilith is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
make amends for
From this reading “Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.”
feelings of ardent love
From this reading “Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.”
lacking in feeling or pity or warmth
From this reading “It was a heartless, horrible letter.”
provoking horror
From this reading “It was a heartless, horrible letter.”
past form of “invite” — increase the likelihood of
From this reading “If Barbara had been invited to the wedding, she would have refused to go.”
possessive form of “jack” — a small worthless amount
From this reading “Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.”
the act of losing or surrendering something as a penalty for a mistake or fault or failure to perform etc.
From this reading “Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.”
the social event at which the ceremony of marriage is performed
From this reading “If Barbara had been invited to the wedding, she would have refused to go.”
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 “Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.”
In this reading “Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.”
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 It was a heartless, horrible letter.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.
make amends for
From this reading Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If Barbara had been invited to the wedding, she would have refused to go.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading If Barbara had been invited to the wedding, she would have refused to go.
feelings of ardent love
From this reading Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Yet Sonia was only doing what she had failed to do.
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading Yet Sonia was only doing what she had failed to do.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading Yet Sonia was only doing what she had failed to do.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading If Barbara had been invited to the wedding, she would have refused to go.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading If Barbara had been invited to the wedding, she would have refused to go.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading If Barbara had been invited to the wedding, she would have refused to go.
lacking in feeling or pity or warmth
From this reading It was a heartless, horrible letter.
provoking horror
From this reading It was a heartless, horrible letter.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If Barbara had been invited to the wedding, she would have refused to go.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.
past form of “invite” — increase the likelihood of
From this reading If Barbara had been invited to the wedding, she would have refused to go.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a heartless, horrible letter.
possessive form of “jack” — a small worthless amount
From this reading Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading It was a heartless, horrible letter.
not any; not one
From this reading Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.
and nothing more
From this reading Yet Sonia was only doing what she had failed to do.
past form of “refuse” — show unwillingness towards
From this reading If Barbara had been invited to the wedding, she would have refused to go.
the act of losing or surrendering something as a penalty for a mistake or fault or failure to perform etc.
From this reading Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading If Barbara had been invited to the wedding, she would have refused to go.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Yet Sonia was only doing what she had failed to do.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She wished that she _had_ been invited....
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading If Barbara had been invited to the wedding, she would have refused to go.
caused to fall to the ground
From this reading Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading If Barbara had been invited to the wedding, she would have refused to go.
hard to endure
From this reading Jack's devotion was no less than O'Rane's, and she had thrown it away; she was trying to atone for everything in one sacrifice, as Sonia had already done.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was a heartless, horrible letter.
the social event at which the ceremony of marriage is performed
From this reading If Barbara had been invited to the wedding, she would have refused to go.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Yet Sonia was only doing what she had failed to do.
past form of “wish” — hope for; have a wish
From this reading She wished that she _had_ been invited....
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading If Barbara had been invited to the wedding, she would have refused to go.
but in spite of that
From this reading Yet Sonia was only doing what she had failed to do.
Chapter 14 of Lady Lilith by Stephen McKenna holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 14 holds 401 sentences of Lady Lilith, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of Lady Lilith by Stephen McKenna exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 14 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 Lady Lilith by Stephen McKenna on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6395 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44982 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44982, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 532 minutes of reading across 1279 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Lady Lilith section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Lady Lilith 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 Lady Lilith, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
