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Sons and Lovers
Sons and Lovers

Chapter I · Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of Sons and Lovers is here in full — 805 sentences across 161 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence • Curated US English Learning Edition
Cover illustration for Sons and Lovers
Context Illustration Reading 1/161 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
“The Bottoms” succeeded to “Hell Row”.
Hell Row was a block of thatched, bulging cottages that stood by the brookside on Greenhill Lane.
There lived the colliers who worked in the little gin-pits two fields away.
The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.
And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Sons and Lovers

Chapter I · Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of Sons and Lovers is here in full — 805 sentences across 161 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/161 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
“The Bottoms” succeeded to “Hell Row”.
Line 2
Hell Row was a block of thatched, bulging cottages that stood by the brookside on Greenhill Lane.
Line 3
There lived the colliers who worked in the little gin-pits two fields away.
Line 4
The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.
Line 5
And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Learner Dictionary

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.

Same adjective US /seɪm/

Identical; not different.

From this reading “And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.”

Velmora curated lexicon
Stood verb US /stʊd/

Maintained an upright posture.

From this reading “Hell Row was a block of thatched, bulging cottages that stood by the brookside on Greenhill Lane.”

Velmora curated lexicon

All words in this reading · 80

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.

a

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Hell Row was a block of thatched, bulging cottages that stood by the brookside on Greenhill Lane.

Pending verification
alder

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.

Pending verification
all

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
among

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
And

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
ants

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
away

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There lived the colliers who worked in the little gin-pits two fields away.

Pending verification
been

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
black

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
block

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Hell Row was a block of thatched, bulging cottages that stood by the brookside on Greenhill Lane.

Pending verification
Bottoms

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “The Bottoms” succeeded to “Hell Row”.

Pending verification
brook

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.

Pending verification
brookside

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Hell Row was a block of thatched, bulging cottages that stood by the brookside on Greenhill Lane.

Pending verification
bulging

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Hell Row was a block of thatched, bulging cottages that stood by the brookside on Greenhill Lane.

Pending verification
burrowing

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
by

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Hell Row was a block of thatched, bulging cottages that stood by the brookside on Greenhill Lane.

Pending verification
Charles

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
circle

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.

Pending verification
coal

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.

Pending verification
colliers

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There lived the colliers who worked in the little gin-pits two fields away.

Pending verification
corn-fields

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
cottages

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Hell Row was a block of thatched, bulging cottages that stood by the brookside on Greenhill Lane.

Pending verification
countryside

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
donkeys

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.

Pending verification
down

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
drawn

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.

Pending verification
earth

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
few

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
fields

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There lived the colliers who worked in the little gin-pits two fields away.

Pending verification
gin

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.

Pending verification
gin-pits

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There lived the colliers who worked in the little gin-pits two fields away.

Pending verification
Greenhill

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Hell Row was a block of thatched, bulging cottages that stood by the brookside on Greenhill Lane.

Pending verification
had

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
Hell

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “The Bottoms” succeeded to “Hell Row”.

Pending verification
II

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
in

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There lived the colliers who worked in the little gin-pits two fields away.

Pending verification
into

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
Lane

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Hell Row was a block of thatched, bulging cottages that stood by the brookside on Greenhill Lane.

Pending verification
like

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
little

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There lived the colliers who worked in the little gin-pits two fields away.

Pending verification
lived

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There lived the colliers who worked in the little gin-pits two fields away.

Pending verification
making

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
meadows

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
mines

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.

Pending verification
mounds

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
of

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Hell Row was a block of thatched, bulging cottages that stood by the brookside on Greenhill Lane.

Pending verification
on

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Hell Row was a block of thatched, bulging cottages that stood by the brookside on Greenhill Lane.

Pending verification
over

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
pits

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
places

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
plodded

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.

Pending verification
queer

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
ran

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.

Pending verification
round

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.

Pending verification
Row

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “The Bottoms” succeeded to “Hell Row”.

Pending verification
sameadjectiveUS /seɪm/

Identical; not different.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Velmora curated lexicon
scarcely

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.

Pending verification
small

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.

Pending verification
soiled

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.

Pending verification
some

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
stoodverbUS /stʊd/

Maintained an upright posture.

From this reading Hell Row was a block of thatched, bulging cottages that stood by the brookside on Greenhill Lane.

Velmora curated lexicon
succeeded

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “The Bottoms” succeeded to “Hell Row”.

Pending verification
surface

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.

Pending verification
that

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Hell Row was a block of thatched, bulging cottages that stood by the brookside on Greenhill Lane.

Pending verification
thatched

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Hell Row was a block of thatched, bulging cottages that stood by the brookside on Greenhill Lane.

Pending verification
The

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “The Bottoms” succeeded to “Hell Row”.

Pending verification
There

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There lived the colliers who worked in the little gin-pits two fields away.

Pending verification
these

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.

Pending verification
time

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
to

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “The Bottoms” succeeded to “Hell Row”.

Pending verification
trees

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.

Pending verification
two

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There lived the colliers who worked in the little gin-pits two fields away.

Pending verification
under

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.

Pending verification
was

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Hell Row was a block of thatched, bulging cottages that stood by the brookside on Greenhill Lane.

Pending verification
wearily

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.

Pending verification
were

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
which

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II., the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows.

Pending verification
who

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There lived the colliers who worked in the little gin-pits two fields away.

Pending verification
whose

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin.

Pending verification
worked

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There lived the colliers who worked in the little gin-pits two fields away.

Pending verification

Chapter 1 of Sons and Lovers by D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence holds 805 sentences, grouped into 161 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.

What does chapter 1 of Sons and Lovers contain?

Chapter 1 holds 805 sentences of Sons and Lovers, unabridged, divided into 161 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 1 of Sons and Lovers by D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 805 sentences, grouped into 161 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.

How do I study chapter 1 of Sons and Lovers?

Work through the 161 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 161 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.

Can chapter 1 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading Sons and Lovers

Common questions about reading Sons and Lovers by D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Sons and Lovers?

Yes. All 15162 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #217 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Sons and Lovers is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #217, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Sons and Lovers take to read?

About 600 minutes of reading across 3033 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Sons and Lovers section by section

How to work through Sons and Lovers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 15 chapters of Sons and Lovers to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Sons and Lovers

Words and structures a reader meets early in Sons and Lovers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Bottoms
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Sons and Lovers; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Succeeded
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Sons and Lovers; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Block
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Sons and Lovers; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Thatched
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Sons and Lovers; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.