Chapter 11 of Madelon: A Novel is here in full — 288 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of Madelon: A Novel is here in full — 288 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort. It was little used, and there was ice against it. Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk. A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly. "Anybody here?" he said.
Chapter 11 of Madelon: A Novel is here in full — 288 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/57 · 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 discharge of lightning accompanied by thunder
From this reading “Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.”
past form of “doubt” — consider unlikely or have doubts about
From this reading “A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.”
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading “Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk.”
water frozen in the solid state
From this reading “It was little used, and there was ice against it.”
deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading “A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.”
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading “Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk.”
with honesty
From this reading “A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.”
not likely to be true or to occur or to have occurred
From this reading “A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.”
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 Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading It was little used, and there was ice against it.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.
any person at all
From this reading "Anybody here?" he said.
a discharge of lightning accompanied by thunder
From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.
past form of “doubt” — consider unlikely or have doubts about
From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk.
earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "Anybody here?" he said.
water frozen in the solid state
From this reading It was little used, and there was ice against it.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk.
lacking determination or decisiveness
From this reading Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was little used, and there was ice against it.
deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading It was little used, and there was ice against it.
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk.
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk.
in the near future
From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.
with honesty
From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Anybody here?" he said.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk.
in or at that place or location
From this reading It was little used, and there was ice against it.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.
not likely to be true or to occur or to have occurred
From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading It was little used, and there was ice against it.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.
Chapter 11 of Madelon: A Novel by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman holds 288 sentences, grouped into 58 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 288 sentences of Madelon: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 58 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Madelon: A Novel by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 288 sentences, grouped into 58 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 58 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 58 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 Madelon: A Novel by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4870 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17885 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17885, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 405 minutes of reading across 974 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Madelon: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of Madelon: A Novel 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 Madelon: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
