Chapter 4 of Sons and Fathers is here in full — 292 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Sons and Fathers is here in full — 292 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE STRANGER IN THE LIBRARY. Edward was up early and abroad for exercise. Despite his gloom he had slept fairly well and had awakened but once. But that once! He could not rid himself of the memory of the little picture and it had served him a queer trick.
Chapter 4 of Sons and Fathers is here in full — 292 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/58 · 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.
to or in a foreign country
From this reading “Edward was up early and abroad for exercise.”
aroused or activated
From this reading “Despite his gloom he had slept fairly well and had awakened but once.”
although something is true; in spite of
From this reading “Despite his gloom he had slept fairly well and had awakened but once.”
King of England and Ireland in 1936; his marriage to Wallis Warfield Simpson created a constitutional crisis leading to his abdication (1894-1972)
From this reading “Edward was up early and abroad for exercise.”
the activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit
From this reading “Edward was up early and abroad for exercise.”
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading “Despite his gloom he had slept fairly well and had awakened but once.”
relieve from
From this reading “He could not rid himself of the memory of the little picture and it had served him a queer trick.”
a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading “He could not rid himself of the memory of the little picture and it had served him a queer trick.”
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.
In this reading “THE STRANGER IN THE LIBRARY.”
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 He could not rid himself of the memory of the little picture and it had served him a queer trick.
to or in a foreign country
From this reading Edward was up early and abroad for exercise.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Edward was up early and abroad for exercise.
aroused or activated
From this reading Despite his gloom he had slept fairly well and had awakened but once.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Despite his gloom he had slept fairly well and had awakened but once.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He could not rid himself of the memory of the little picture and it had served him a queer trick.
although something is true; in spite of
From this reading Despite his gloom he had slept fairly well and had awakened but once.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading Edward was up early and abroad for exercise.
King of England and Ireland in 1936; his marriage to Wallis Warfield Simpson created a constitutional crisis leading to his abdication (1894-1972)
From this reading Edward was up early and abroad for exercise.
the activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit
From this reading Edward was up early and abroad for exercise.
to certain extent or degree
From this reading Despite his gloom he had slept fairly well and had awakened but once.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Edward was up early and abroad for exercise.
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading Despite his gloom he had slept fairly well and had awakened but once.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Despite his gloom he had slept fairly well and had awakened but once.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Despite his gloom he had slept fairly well and had awakened but once.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He could not rid himself of the memory of the little picture and it had served him a queer trick.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He could not rid himself of the memory of the little picture and it had served him a queer trick.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Despite his gloom he had slept fairly well and had awakened but once.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE STRANGER IN THE LIBRARY.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He could not rid himself of the memory of the little picture and it had served him a queer trick.
a room where books are kept
From this reading THE STRANGER IN THE LIBRARY.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading He could not rid himself of the memory of the little picture and it had served him a queer trick.
The faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information and knowledge.
From this reading He could not rid himself of the memory of the little picture and it had served him a queer trick.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He could not rid himself of the memory of the little picture and it had served him a queer trick.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He could not rid himself of the memory of the little picture and it had served him a queer trick.
on one occasion
From this reading Despite his gloom he had slept fairly well and had awakened but once.
a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface
From this reading He could not rid himself of the memory of the little picture and it had served him a queer trick.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading He could not rid himself of the memory of the little picture and it had served him a queer trick.
relieve from
From this reading He could not rid himself of the memory of the little picture and it had served him a queer trick.
past form of “serve” — serve a purpose, role, or function
From this reading He could not rid himself of the memory of the little picture and it had served him a queer trick.
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading Despite his gloom he had slept fairly well and had awakened but once.
anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found
From this reading THE STRANGER IN THE LIBRARY.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading But that once!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE STRANGER IN THE LIBRARY.
a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading He could not rid himself of the memory of the little picture and it had served him a queer trick.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Edward was up early and abroad for exercise.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Edward was up early and abroad for exercise.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Despite his gloom he had slept fairly well and had awakened but once.
Chapter 4 of Sons and Fathers by Harry Stillwell Edwards holds 292 sentences, grouped into 59 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 4 holds 292 sentences of Sons and Fathers, unabridged, divided into 59 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Sons and Fathers by Harry Stillwell Edwards exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 292 sentences, grouped into 59 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 59 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 59 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 4 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 Sons and Fathers by Harry Stillwell Edwards on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8769 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36112 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36112, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1754 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sons and Fathers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Sons and Fathers 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 Sons and Fathers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
