Chapter 27 of Shirley is here in full — 575 sentences across 115 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of Shirley is here in full — 575 sentences across 115 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE FIRST BLUESTOCKING. Miss Keeldar and her uncle had characters that would not harmonize, that never had harmonized. He was irritable, and she was spirited. He was despotic, and she liked freedom. He was worldly, and she, perhaps, romantic.
Chapter 27 of Shirley is here in full — 575 sentences across 115 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/115 · 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.
plural of “character” — an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story)
From this reading “Miss Keeldar and her uncle had characters that would not harmonize, that never had harmonized.”
belonging to or having the characteristics of a despot
From this reading “He was despotic, and she liked freedom.”
go together
From this reading “Miss Keeldar and her uncle had characters that would not harmonize, that never had harmonized.”
involving or characterized by harmony
From this reading “Miss Keeldar and her uncle had characters that would not harmonize, that never had harmonized.”
easily irritated or annoyed
From this reading “He was irritable, and she was spirited.”
belonging to or characteristic of Romanticism or the Romantic Movement in the arts
From this reading “He was worldly, and she, perhaps, romantic.”
displaying animation, vigor, or liveliness
From this reading “He was irritable, and she was spirited.”
characteristic of or devoted to the temporal world as opposed to the spiritual world
From this reading “He was worldly, and she, perhaps, romantic.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Miss Keeldar and her uncle had characters that would not harmonize, that never had harmonized.
a woman having literary or intellectual interests
From this reading THE FIRST BLUESTOCKING.
plural of “character” — an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story)
From this reading Miss Keeldar and her uncle had characters that would not harmonize, that never had harmonized.
belonging to or having the characteristics of a despot
From this reading He was despotic, and she liked freedom.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading THE FIRST BLUESTOCKING.
the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints
From this reading He was despotic, and she liked freedom.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Miss Keeldar and her uncle had characters that would not harmonize, that never had harmonized.
go together
From this reading Miss Keeldar and her uncle had characters that would not harmonize, that never had harmonized.
involving or characterized by harmony
From this reading Miss Keeldar and her uncle had characters that would not harmonize, that never had harmonized.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was irritable, and she was spirited.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Miss Keeldar and her uncle had characters that would not harmonize, that never had harmonized.
easily irritated or annoyed
From this reading He was irritable, and she was spirited.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Miss Keeldar and her uncle had characters that would not harmonize, that never had harmonized.
found pleasant or attractive; often used as a combining form
From this reading He was despotic, and she liked freedom.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading Miss Keeldar and her uncle had characters that would not harmonize, that never had harmonized.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Miss Keeldar and her uncle had characters that would not harmonize, that never had harmonized.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Miss Keeldar and her uncle had characters that would not harmonize, that never had harmonized.
by chance
From this reading He was worldly, and she, perhaps, romantic.
belonging to or characteristic of Romanticism or the Romantic Movement in the arts
From this reading He was worldly, and she, perhaps, romantic.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was irritable, and she was spirited.
displaying animation, vigor, or liveliness
From this reading He was irritable, and she was spirited.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Miss Keeldar and her uncle had characters that would not harmonize, that never had harmonized.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE FIRST BLUESTOCKING.
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading Miss Keeldar and her uncle had characters that would not harmonize, that never had harmonized.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was irritable, and she was spirited.
characteristic of or devoted to the temporal world as opposed to the spiritual world
From this reading He was worldly, and she, perhaps, romantic.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Miss Keeldar and her uncle had characters that would not harmonize, that never had harmonized.
Chapter 27 of Shirley by Charlotte Brontë holds 575 sentences, grouped into 115 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 27 holds 575 sentences of Shirley, unabridged, divided into 115 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of Shirley by Charlotte Brontë exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 575 sentences, grouped into 115 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 115 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 115 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 27 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 Shirley by Charlotte Brontë on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 14226 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30486 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30486, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2846 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Shirley section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of Shirley 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 Shirley, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
