Chapter 7 of Mad Barbara is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Mad Barbara is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand. “She said that the stain is still there. And it is—” “Fiddle-faddle! What of that, Nan?” And the evil spirit in him flashed out fiercely.
Chapter 7 of Mad Barbara is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
Queen of England and Scotland and Ireland; daughter if James II and the last of the Stuart monarchs; in 1707 she was the last English ruler to exercise the royal veto over parliament (1665-1714)
From this reading “Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.”
overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form
From this reading “Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.”
morally objectionable behavior
From this reading “And the evil spirit in him flashed out fiercely.”
in a physically fierce manner
From this reading “And the evil spirit in him flashed out fiercely.”
past form of “flash” — gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading “And the evil spirit in him flashed out fiercely.”
your grandmother
From this reading “What of that, Nan?””
English organist at Westminster Abbey and composer of many theatrical pieces (1659-1695)
From this reading “Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.”
a soiled or discolored appearance
From this reading ““She said that the stain is still there.”
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.
a spirit tending to cause harm
In this reading “And the evil spirit in him flashed out fiercely.”
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.”
In this reading “And the evil spirit in him flashed out fiercely.”
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 Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.
Queen of England and Scotland and Ireland; daughter if James II and the last of the Stuart monarchs; in 1707 she was the last English ruler to exercise the royal veto over parliament (1665-1714)
From this reading Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.
overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form
From this reading Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.
morally objectionable behavior
From this reading And the evil spirit in him flashed out fiercely.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.
trivial nonsense
From this reading And it is—” “Fiddle-faddle!
in a physically fierce manner
From this reading And the evil spirit in him flashed out fiercely.
past form of “flash” — gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading And the evil spirit in him flashed out fiercely.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading And the evil spirit in him flashed out fiercely.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “She said that the stain is still there.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading And it is—” “Fiddle-faddle!
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.
your grandmother
From this reading What of that, Nan?”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading What of that, Nan?”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading And the evil spirit in him flashed out fiercely.
English organist at Westminster Abbey and composer of many theatrical pieces (1659-1695)
From this reading Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “She said that the stain is still there.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “She said that the stain is still there.
the vital principle or animating force within living things
From this reading And the evil spirit in him flashed out fiercely.
a soiled or discolored appearance
From this reading “She said that the stain is still there.
not in physical motion
From this reading “She said that the stain is still there.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “She said that the stain is still there.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.
in or at that place or location
From this reading “She said that the stain is still there.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What of that, Nan?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Anne Purcell turned on the window-seat to look at him, and then covered her face with her hand.
Chapter 7 of Mad Barbara by Warwick Deeping holds 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 7 holds 412 sentences of Mad Barbara, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Mad Barbara by Warwick Deeping exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 7 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 Mad Barbara by Warwick Deeping on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6545 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50995 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50995, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 545 minutes of reading across 1309 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mad Barbara section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Mad Barbara 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 Mad Barbara, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
