Chapter 11 of The Age of Innocence is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of The Age of Innocence is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Madame Olenska, dropping her cloak, sat down in one of the chairs. Archer leaned against the chimney and looked at her. "You're laughing now; but when you wrote me you were unhappy," he said. "Yes." She paused.
Chapter 11 of The Age of Innocence is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
a person who is expert in the use of a bow and arrow
From this reading “Archer leaned against the chimney and looked at her.”
plural of “chair” — a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading “Madame Olenska, dropping her cloak, sat down in one of the chairs.”
a vertical flue that provides a path through which smoke from a fire is carried away through the wall or roof of a building
From this reading “Archer leaned against the chimney and looked at her.”
anything that covers or conceals
From this reading “Madame Olenska, dropping her cloak, sat down in one of the chairs.”
coming down freely under the influence of gravity
From this reading “Madame Olenska, dropping her cloak, sat down in one of the chairs.”
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading “Archer leaned against the chimney and looked at her.”
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading “She paused.”
experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent
From this reading “"You're laughing now; but when you wrote me you were unhappy," he said.”
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.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Archer leaned against the chimney and looked at her.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Archer leaned against the chimney and looked at her.
a person who is expert in the use of a bow and arrow
From this reading Archer leaned against the chimney and looked at her.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Archer leaned against the chimney and looked at her.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "You're laughing now; but when you wrote me you were unhappy," he said.
plural of “chair” — a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading Madame Olenska, dropping her cloak, sat down in one of the chairs.
a vertical flue that provides a path through which smoke from a fire is carried away through the wall or roof of a building
From this reading Archer leaned against the chimney and looked at her.
anything that covers or conceals
From this reading Madame Olenska, dropping her cloak, sat down in one of the chairs.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Madame Olenska, dropping her cloak, sat down in one of the chairs.
coming down freely under the influence of gravity
From this reading Madame Olenska, dropping her cloak, sat down in one of the chairs.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "You're laughing now; but when you wrote me you were unhappy," he said.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Madame Olenska, dropping her cloak, sat down in one of the chairs.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Madame Olenska, dropping her cloak, sat down in one of the chairs.
showing or feeling mirth or pleasure or happiness
From this reading "You're laughing now; but when you wrote me you were unhappy," he said.
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading Archer leaned against the chimney and looked at her.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Archer leaned against the chimney and looked at her.
title used for a married Frenchwoman
From this reading Madame Olenska, dropping her cloak, sat down in one of the chairs.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "You're laughing now; but when you wrote me you were unhappy," he said.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "You're laughing now; but when you wrote me you were unhappy," he said.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Madame Olenska, dropping her cloak, sat down in one of the chairs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Madame Olenska, dropping her cloak, sat down in one of the chairs.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Madame Olenska, dropping her cloak, sat down in one of the chairs.
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading She paused.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "You're laughing now; but when you wrote me you were unhappy," he said.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Madame Olenska, dropping her cloak, sat down in one of the chairs.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She paused.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Madame Olenska, dropping her cloak, sat down in one of the chairs.
experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent
From this reading "You're laughing now; but when you wrote me you were unhappy," he said.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "You're laughing now; but when you wrote me you were unhappy," he said.
at the time that
From this reading "You're laughing now; but when you wrote me you were unhappy," he said.
inflected form of “write” — produce a literary work
From this reading "You're laughing now; but when you wrote me you were unhappy," he said.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You're laughing now; but when you wrote me you were unhappy," he said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You're laughing now; but when you wrote me you were unhappy," he said.
Chapter 11 of The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton holds 165 sentences, grouped into 33 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 11 holds 165 sentences of The Age of Innocence, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 165 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 11 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 The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4855 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #541 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #541, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 404 minutes of reading across 971 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Age of Innocence section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of The Age of Innocence 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 The Age of Innocence, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
