Chapter 1 of Nonsense Novels is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Nonsense Novels is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The secretary handed him a telegram. It was from the Prefect of Police of Paris. It read: “The Prince of Wurttemberg stolen. Probably forwarded to London. Must have him here for the opening day of Exhibition.
Chapter 1 of Nonsense Novels is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 10/79 · 5 reading units · Lines 46–50
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 act of exhibiting
From this reading “Must have him here for the opening day of Exhibition.”
past form of “forward” — send or ship onward from an intermediate post or station in transit
From this reading “Probably forwarded to London.”
having or involving the use of hands
From this reading “The secretary handed him a telegram.”
the force of policemen and officers
From this reading “It was from the Prefect of Police of Paris.”
a chief officer or chief magistrate
From this reading “It was from the Prefect of Police of Paris.”
a person who is head of an administrative department of government
From this reading “The secretary handed him a telegram.”
inflected form of “steal” — take without the owner's consent
From this reading “It read: “The Prince of Wurttemberg stolen.”
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading “The secretary handed him a telegram.”
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 The secretary handed him a telegram.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Must have him here for the opening day of Exhibition.
the act of exhibiting
From this reading Must have him here for the opening day of Exhibition.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Must have him here for the opening day of Exhibition.
past form of “forward” — send or ship onward from an intermediate post or station in transit
From this reading Probably forwarded to London.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading It was from the Prefect of Police of Paris.
having or involving the use of hands
From this reading The secretary handed him a telegram.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Must have him here for the opening day of Exhibition.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Must have him here for the opening day of Exhibition.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The secretary handed him a telegram.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was from the Prefect of Police of Paris.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading Probably forwarded to London.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Must have him here for the opening day of Exhibition.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was from the Prefect of Police of Paris.
an open or empty space in or between things
From this reading Must have him here for the opening day of Exhibition.
the capital and largest city of France; and international center of culture and commerce
From this reading It was from the Prefect of Police of Paris.
the force of policemen and officers
From this reading It was from the Prefect of Police of Paris.
a chief officer or chief magistrate
From this reading It was from the Prefect of Police of Paris.
a male member of a royal family other than the sovereign (especially the son of a sovereign)
From this reading It read: “The Prince of Wurttemberg stolen.
with considerable certainty; without much doubt
From this reading Probably forwarded to London.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading It read: “The Prince of Wurttemberg stolen.
a person who is head of an administrative department of government
From this reading The secretary handed him a telegram.
inflected form of “steal” — take without the owner's consent
From this reading It read: “The Prince of Wurttemberg stolen.
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading The secretary handed him a telegram.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The secretary handed him a telegram.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Probably forwarded to London.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was from the Prefect of Police of Paris.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It read: “The Prince of Wurttemberg stolen.
Chapter 1 of Nonsense Novels by Stephen Leacock holds 398 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 1 holds 398 sentences of Nonsense Novels, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Nonsense Novels by Stephen Leacock exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 398 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 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 Nonsense Novels by Stephen Leacock on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2415 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4682 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4682, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 201 minutes of reading across 483 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Nonsense Novels section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Nonsense Novels 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 Nonsense Novels, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
