Chapter 1 of North and South is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of North and South is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“HASTE TO THE WEDDING.” “Wooed and married and a’.” “Edith!” said Margaret, gently, “Edith!” But as Margaret half suspected, Edith had fallen asleep. She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.
Chapter 1 of North and South is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
(of hair) making curls or having been made to curl
From this reading “She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.”
overly eager speed (and possible carelessness)
From this reading ““HASTE TO THE WEDDING.””
plain-woven cotton fabric
From this reading “She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.”
plural of “ribbon” — any long object resembling a thin line
From this reading “She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.”
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading “She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.”
believed likely
From this reading “But as Margaret half suspected, Edith had fallen asleep.”
the social event at which the ceremony of marriage is performed
From this reading ““HASTE TO THE WEDDING.””
past form of “woo” — seek someone's favor
From this reading ““Wooed and married and a’.””
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 “Wooed and married and a’.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Wooed and married and a’.”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading But as Margaret half suspected, Edith had fallen asleep.
in a state of sleep
From this reading But as Margaret half suspected, Edith had fallen asleep.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But as Margaret half suspected, Edith had fallen asleep.
(of hair) making curls or having been made to curl
From this reading She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Edith!” said Margaret, gently, “Edith!”
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading But as Margaret half suspected, Edith had fallen asleep.
in a gradual manner
From this reading “Edith!” said Margaret, gently, “Edith!”
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading But as Margaret half suspected, Edith had fallen asleep.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading But as Margaret half suspected, Edith had fallen asleep.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.
overly eager speed (and possible carelessness)
From this reading “HASTE TO THE WEDDING.”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.
appealing to the emotions as well as the eye
From this reading She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Edith!” said Margaret, gently, “Edith!”
joined in matrimony
From this reading “Wooed and married and a’.”
plain-woven cotton fabric
From this reading She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.
plural of “ribbon” — any long object resembling a thin line
From this reading She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Edith!” said Margaret, gently, “Edith!”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.
believed likely
From this reading But as Margaret half suspected, Edith had fallen asleep.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “HASTE TO THE WEDDING.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “HASTE TO THE WEDDING.”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.
precisely as stated
From this reading She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.
the social event at which the ceremony of marriage is performed
From this reading “HASTE TO THE WEDDING.”
a Caucasian
From this reading She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons.
past form of “woo” — seek someone's favor
From this reading “Wooed and married and a’.”
Chapter 1 of North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell holds 180 sentences, grouped into 36 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 180 sentences of North and South, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 180 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10039 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4276 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4276, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2008 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through North and South section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of North and South 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 North and South, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
