Chapter 1 of Man and Wife is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Man and Wife is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
This is little Blanche--the only child of the dearest friend I have. When Blanche’s mother and I last saw each other we were two poor school-girls beginning the world. My friend went to India, and married there late in life. You may have heard of her husband--the famous Indian officer, Sir Thomas Lundie? Yes: ‘the rich Sir Thomas,’ as you call him.
Chapter 1 of Man and Wife is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 13/83 · 5 reading units · Lines 61–65
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.
the event consisting of the start of something
From this reading “When Blanche’s mother and I last saw each other we were two poor school-girls beginning the world.”
a beloved person; used as terms of endearment
From this reading “This is little Blanche--the only child of the dearest friend I have.”
widely known and esteemed
From this reading “You may have heard of her husband--the famous Indian officer, Sir Thomas Lundie?”
a republic in the Asian subcontinent in southern Asia; second most populous country in the world; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1947
From this reading “My friend went to India, and married there late in life.”
of or relating to or characteristic of India or the East Indies or their peoples or languages or cultures
From this reading “You may have heard of her husband--the famous Indian officer, Sir Thomas Lundie?”
any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading “You may have heard of her husband--the famous Indian officer, Sir Thomas Lundie?”
possessing material wealth
From this reading “Yes: ‘the rich Sir Thomas,’ as you call him.”
United States clockmaker who introduced mass production (1785-1859)
From this reading “You may have heard of her husband--the famous Indian officer, Sir Thomas Lundie?”
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 When Blanche’s mother and I last saw each other we were two poor school-girls beginning the world.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Yes: ‘the rich Sir Thomas,’ as you call him.
the event consisting of the start of something
From this reading When Blanche’s mother and I last saw each other we were two poor school-girls beginning the world.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This is little Blanche--the only child of the dearest friend I have.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Blanche’s mother and I last saw each other we were two poor school-girls beginning the world.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Yes: ‘the rich Sir Thomas,’ as you call him.
a young person of either sex
From this reading This is little Blanche--the only child of the dearest friend I have.
a beloved person; used as terms of endearment
From this reading This is little Blanche--the only child of the dearest friend I have.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading When Blanche’s mother and I last saw each other we were two poor school-girls beginning the world.
widely known and esteemed
From this reading You may have heard of her husband--the famous Indian officer, Sir Thomas Lundie?
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading This is little Blanche--the only child of the dearest friend I have.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading This is little Blanche--the only child of the dearest friend I have.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading You may have heard of her husband--the famous Indian officer, Sir Thomas Lundie?
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading You may have heard of her husband--the famous Indian officer, Sir Thomas Lundie?
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Yes: ‘the rich Sir Thomas,’ as you call him.
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading You may have heard of her husband--the famous Indian officer, Sir Thomas Lundie?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading This is little Blanche--the only child of the dearest friend I have.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading My friend went to India, and married there late in life.
a republic in the Asian subcontinent in southern Asia; second most populous country in the world; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1947
From this reading My friend went to India, and married there late in life.
of or relating to or characteristic of India or the East Indies or their peoples or languages or cultures
From this reading You may have heard of her husband--the famous Indian officer, Sir Thomas Lundie?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This is little Blanche--the only child of the dearest friend I have.
immediately past
From this reading When Blanche’s mother and I last saw each other we were two poor school-girls beginning the world.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading My friend went to India, and married there late in life.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading My friend went to India, and married there late in life.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading This is little Blanche--the only child of the dearest friend I have.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You may have heard of her husband--the famous Indian officer, Sir Thomas Lundie?
joined in matrimony
From this reading My friend went to India, and married there late in life.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading You may have heard of her husband--the famous Indian officer, Sir Thomas Lundie?
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading When Blanche’s mother and I last saw each other we were two poor school-girls beginning the world.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My friend went to India, and married there late in life.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading This is little Blanche--the only child of the dearest friend I have.
any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading You may have heard of her husband--the famous Indian officer, Sir Thomas Lundie?
and nothing more
From this reading This is little Blanche--the only child of the dearest friend I have.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading When Blanche’s mother and I last saw each other we were two poor school-girls beginning the world.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading When Blanche’s mother and I last saw each other we were two poor school-girls beginning the world.
possessing material wealth
From this reading Yes: ‘the rich Sir Thomas,’ as you call him.
cut with a saw
From this reading When Blanche’s mother and I last saw each other we were two poor school-girls beginning the world.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Blanche’s mother and I last saw each other we were two poor school-girls beginning the world.
term of address for a man
From this reading You may have heard of her husband--the famous Indian officer, Sir Thomas Lundie?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading This is little Blanche--the only child of the dearest friend I have.
in or at that place or location
From this reading My friend went to India, and married there late in life.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This is little Blanche--the only child of the dearest friend I have.
United States clockmaker who introduced mass production (1785-1859)
From this reading You may have heard of her husband--the famous Indian officer, Sir Thomas Lundie?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading My friend went to India, and married there late in life.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading When Blanche’s mother and I last saw each other we were two poor school-girls beginning the world.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading When Blanche’s mother and I last saw each other we were two poor school-girls beginning the world.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading My friend went to India, and married there late in life.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading When Blanche’s mother and I last saw each other we were two poor school-girls beginning the world.
at the time that
From this reading When Blanche’s mother and I last saw each other we were two poor school-girls beginning the world.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading When Blanche’s mother and I last saw each other we were two poor school-girls beginning the world.
an affirmative
From this reading Yes: ‘the rich Sir Thomas,’ as you call him.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You may have heard of her husband--the famous Indian officer, Sir Thomas Lundie?
Chapter 1 of Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins holds 415 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 1 holds 415 sentences of Man and Wife, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 415 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 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 Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 16495 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1586 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1586, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 3299 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Man and Wife section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Man and Wife 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 Man and Wife, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
