Chapter 13 of Mrs. Thompson: A Novel is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of Mrs. Thompson: A Novel is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"You did something to frighten her, sir," said the cook. "It's a lie--a damned lie." "If so," said the cook, with concentrated sourness, "why not let her go to the police, as she wishes?" "No," shouted Marsden. "I can't have my servants libelling and scandalizing me.
Chapter 13 of Mrs. Thompson: A Novel is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
gathered together or made less diffuse
From this reading “"If so," said the cook, with concentrated sourness, "why not let her go to the police, as she wishes?"”
prepare a hot meal
From this reading “"You did something to frighten her, sir," said the cook.”
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “"It's a lie--a damned lie."”
cause fear in
From this reading “"You did something to frighten her, sir," said the cook.”
the force of policemen and officers
From this reading “"If so," said the cook, with concentrated sourness, "why not let her go to the police, as she wishes?"”
plural of “servant” — a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading “"I can't have my servants libelling and scandalizing me.”
in a vehement outcry
From this reading “"No," shouted Marsden.”
plural of “wish” — a specific feeling of desire
From this reading “"If so," said the cook, with concentrated sourness, "why not let her go to the police, as she wishes?"”
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.
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's a lie--a damned lie."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "I can't have my servants libelling and scandalizing me.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "If so," said the cook, with concentrated sourness, "why not let her go to the police, as she wishes?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I can't have my servants libelling and scandalizing me.
gathered together or made less diffuse
From this reading "If so," said the cook, with concentrated sourness, "why not let her go to the police, as she wishes?"
prepare a hot meal
From this reading "You did something to frighten her, sir," said the cook.
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading "It's a lie--a damned lie."
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "You did something to frighten her, sir," said the cook.
cause fear in
From this reading "You did something to frighten her, sir," said the cook.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "If so," said the cook, with concentrated sourness, "why not let her go to the police, as she wishes?"
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "I can't have my servants libelling and scandalizing me.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "You did something to frighten her, sir," said the cook.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I can't have my servants libelling and scandalizing me.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "If so," said the cook, with concentrated sourness, "why not let her go to the police, as she wishes?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's a lie--a damned lie."
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading "If so," said the cook, with concentrated sourness, "why not let her go to the police, as she wishes?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I can't have my servants libelling and scandalizing me.
be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
From this reading "It's a lie--a damned lie."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No," shouted Marsden.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "I can't have my servants libelling and scandalizing me.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "I can't have my servants libelling and scandalizing me.
not any; not one
From this reading "No," shouted Marsden.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "If so," said the cook, with concentrated sourness, "why not let her go to the police, as she wishes?"
the force of policemen and officers
From this reading "If so," said the cook, with concentrated sourness, "why not let her go to the police, as she wishes?"
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "You did something to frighten her, sir," said the cook.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I can't have my servants libelling and scandalizing me.
plural of “servant” — a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading "I can't have my servants libelling and scandalizing me.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "If so," said the cook, with concentrated sourness, "why not let her go to the police, as she wishes?"
in a vehement outcry
From this reading "No," shouted Marsden.
term of address for a man
From this reading "You did something to frighten her, sir," said the cook.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "If so," said the cook, with concentrated sourness, "why not let her go to the police, as she wishes?"
a thing, without saying which
From this reading "You did something to frighten her, sir," said the cook.
the taste experience when vinegar or lemon juice is taken into the mouth
From this reading "If so," said the cook, with concentrated sourness, "why not let her go to the police, as she wishes?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "You did something to frighten her, sir," said the cook.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "You did something to frighten her, sir," said the cook.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "If so," said the cook, with concentrated sourness, "why not let her go to the police, as she wishes?"
plural of “wish” — a specific feeling of desire
From this reading "If so," said the cook, with concentrated sourness, "why not let her go to the police, as she wishes?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading "If so," said the cook, with concentrated sourness, "why not let her go to the police, as she wishes?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You did something to frighten her, sir," said the cook.
Chapter 13 of Mrs. Thompson: A Novel by W. B. (William Babington) Maxwell holds 397 sentences, grouped into 80 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 13 holds 397 sentences of Mrs. Thompson: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of Mrs. Thompson: A Novel by W. B. (William Babington) Maxwell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 397 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 13 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 Mrs. Thompson: A Novel by W. B. (William Babington) Maxwell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7152 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39515 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39515, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 596 minutes of reading across 1431 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mrs. Thompson: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of Mrs. Thompson: 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 Mrs. Thompson: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
