Chapter 37 of Scenes from a Courtesan's Life is here in full — 230 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVII
Chapter 37 of Scenes from a Courtesan's Life is here in full — 230 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“She gave all the gendarmes and warders a sick headache,” said Monsieur Gault, much puzzled. “Nothing can be a matter of indifference in your business,” said the public prosecutor. “The Conciergerie has not such tremendous walls for nothing. How did this lady get in?” “With a regular permit, monsieur,” replied the governor.
Chapter 37 of Scenes from a Courtesan's Life is here in full — 230 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/46 · 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.
the head of a state government
From this reading ““With a regular permit, monsieur,” replied the governor.”
something or someone that causes anxiety; a source of unhappiness
From this reading ““She gave all the gendarmes and warders a sick headache,” said Monsieur Gault, much puzzled.”
unbiased impartial unconcern
From this reading ““Nothing can be a matter of indifference in your business,” said the public prosecutor.”
a legal document giving official permission to do something
From this reading ““With a regular permit, monsieur,” replied the governor.”
a government official who conducts criminal prosecutions on behalf of the state
From this reading ““Nothing can be a matter of indifference in your business,” said the public prosecutor.”
filled with bewilderment
From this reading ““She gave all the gendarmes and warders a sick headache,” said Monsieur Gault, much puzzled.”
extraordinarily large in size or extent or amount or power or degree
From this reading ““The Conciergerie has not such tremendous walls for nothing.”
plural of “warder” — a person who works in a prison and is in charge of prisoners
From this reading ““She gave all the gendarmes and warders a sick headache,” said Monsieur Gault, much puzzled.”
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 “She gave all the gendarmes and warders a sick headache,” said Monsieur Gault, much puzzled.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading “She gave all the gendarmes and warders a sick headache,” said Monsieur Gault, much puzzled.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “She gave all the gendarmes and warders a sick headache,” said Monsieur Gault, much puzzled.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “Nothing can be a matter of indifference in your business,” said the public prosecutor.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading “Nothing can be a matter of indifference in your business,” said the public prosecutor.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading “Nothing can be a matter of indifference in your business,” said the public prosecutor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “The Conciergerie has not such tremendous walls for nothing.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading How did this lady get in?”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “The Conciergerie has not such tremendous walls for nothing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “She gave all the gendarmes and warders a sick headache,” said Monsieur Gault, much puzzled.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading “She gave all the gendarmes and warders a sick headache,” said Monsieur Gault, much puzzled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “She gave all the gendarmes and warders a sick headache,” said Monsieur Gault, much puzzled.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading How did this lady get in?”
the head of a state government
From this reading “With a regular permit, monsieur,” replied the governor.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “The Conciergerie has not such tremendous walls for nothing.
something or someone that causes anxiety; a source of unhappiness
From this reading “She gave all the gendarmes and warders a sick headache,” said Monsieur Gault, much puzzled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How did this lady get in?”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Nothing can be a matter of indifference in your business,” said the public prosecutor.
unbiased impartial unconcern
From this reading “Nothing can be a matter of indifference in your business,” said the public prosecutor.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading How did this lady get in?”
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading “Nothing can be a matter of indifference in your business,” said the public prosecutor.
used as a French courtesy title; equivalent to English “Mr”
From this reading “She gave all the gendarmes and warders a sick headache,” said Monsieur Gault, much puzzled.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading “She gave all the gendarmes and warders a sick headache,” said Monsieur Gault, much puzzled.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “The Conciergerie has not such tremendous walls for nothing.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading “Nothing can be a matter of indifference in your business,” said the public prosecutor.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Nothing can be a matter of indifference in your business,” said the public prosecutor.
a legal document giving official permission to do something
From this reading “With a regular permit, monsieur,” replied the governor.
a government official who conducts criminal prosecutions on behalf of the state
From this reading “Nothing can be a matter of indifference in your business,” said the public prosecutor.
people in general considered as a whole
From this reading “Nothing can be a matter of indifference in your business,” said the public prosecutor.
filled with bewilderment
From this reading “She gave all the gendarmes and warders a sick headache,” said Monsieur Gault, much puzzled.
in accordance with fixed order or procedure or principle
From this reading “With a regular permit, monsieur,” replied the governor.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading “With a regular permit, monsieur,” replied the governor.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “She gave all the gendarmes and warders a sick headache,” said Monsieur Gault, much puzzled.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “She gave all the gendarmes and warders a sick headache,” said Monsieur Gault, much puzzled.
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading “She gave all the gendarmes and warders a sick headache,” said Monsieur Gault, much puzzled.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading “The Conciergerie has not such tremendous walls for nothing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “She gave all the gendarmes and warders a sick headache,” said Monsieur Gault, much puzzled.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading How did this lady get in?”
extraordinarily large in size or extent or amount or power or degree
From this reading “The Conciergerie has not such tremendous walls for nothing.
plural of “wall” — an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading “The Conciergerie has not such tremendous walls for nothing.
plural of “warder” — a person who works in a prison and is in charge of prisoners
From this reading “She gave all the gendarmes and warders a sick headache,” said Monsieur Gault, much puzzled.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “With a regular permit, monsieur,” replied the governor.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Nothing can be a matter of indifference in your business,” said the public prosecutor.
Chapter 37 of Scenes from a Courtesan's Life by Honoré de Balzac holds 230 sentences, grouped into 46 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 37 holds 230 sentences of Scenes from a Courtesan's Life, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 37 of Scenes from a Courtesan's Life by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 230 sentences, grouped into 46 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 46 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 46 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 37 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 Scenes from a Courtesan's Life by Honoré de Balzac on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9208 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1660 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1660, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1842 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Scenes from a Courtesan's Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Scenes from a Courtesan's Life 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 Scenes from a Courtesan's Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
