Chapter 23 of The Beautiful Wretch is here in full — 163 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of The Beautiful Wretch is here in full — 163 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
'BRING HOME THE BRIDE SO FAIR!' 'Poor Jack!' that was all Madge's cry. She did not care what arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested. She did not want her fortune settled on herself. To her it did not matter whether the brewery was in Southampton or in Jerusalem.
Chapter 23 of The Beautiful Wretch is here in full — 163 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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 thing arranged or agreed to
From this reading “She did not care what arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested.”
a plant where beer is brewed by fermentation
From this reading “To her it did not matter whether the brewery was in Southampton or in Jerusalem.”
a woman who has recently been married
From this reading “'BRING HOME THE BRIDE SO FAIR!'”
plural of “guardian” — a person who cares for persons or property
From this reading “She did not care what arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested.”
having or showing interest; especially curiosity or fascination or concern
From this reading “She did not care what arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested.”
capital and largest city of the modern state of Israel (although its status as capital is disputed)
From this reading “To her it did not matter whether the brewery was in Southampton or in Jerusalem.”
plural of “parent” — a father or mother; one who begets or one who gives birth to or nurtures and raises a child; a relative who plays the role of guardian
From this reading “She did not care what arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested.”
established or decided beyond dispute or doubt
From this reading “She did not want her fortune settled on herself.”
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.
(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 'Poor Jack!' that was all Madge's cry.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She did not care what arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested.
the thing arranged or agreed to
From this reading She did not care what arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading She did not care what arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested.
a plant where beer is brewed by fermentation
From this reading To her it did not matter whether the brewery was in Southampton or in Jerusalem.
a woman who has recently been married
From this reading 'BRING HOME THE BRIDE SO FAIR!'
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading 'BRING HOME THE BRIDE SO FAIR!'
showing who or what does the action
From this reading She did not care what arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested.
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading She did not care what arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading 'Poor Jack!' that was all Madge's cry.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading She did not care what arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested.
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading 'BRING HOME THE BRIDE SO FAIR!'
an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading She did not want her fortune settled on herself.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading She did not care what arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested.
plural of “guardian” — a person who cares for persons or property
From this reading She did not care what arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She did not want her fortune settled on herself.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading She did not want her fortune settled on herself.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading 'BRING HOME THE BRIDE SO FAIR!'
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading To her it did not matter whether the brewery was in Southampton or in Jerusalem.
having or showing interest; especially curiosity or fascination or concern
From this reading She did not care what arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading To her it did not matter whether the brewery was in Southampton or in Jerusalem.
a small worthless amount
From this reading 'Poor Jack!' that was all Madge's cry.
capital and largest city of the modern state of Israel (although its status as capital is disputed)
From this reading To her it did not matter whether the brewery was in Southampton or in Jerusalem.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Poor Jack!' that was all Madge's cry.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading To her it did not matter whether the brewery was in Southampton or in Jerusalem.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She did not care what arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She did not want her fortune settled on herself.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading To her it did not matter whether the brewery was in Southampton or in Jerusalem.
plural of “parent” — a father or mother; one who begets or one who gives birth to or nurtures and raises a child; a relative who plays the role of guardian
From this reading She did not care what arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading 'Poor Jack!' that was all Madge's cry.
established or decided beyond dispute or doubt
From this reading She did not want her fortune settled on herself.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She did not care what arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading 'BRING HOME THE BRIDE SO FAIR!'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading To her it did not matter whether the brewery was in Southampton or in Jerusalem.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading 'Poor Jack!' that was all Madge's cry.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading 'BRING HOME THE BRIDE SO FAIR!'
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To her it did not matter whether the brewery was in Southampton or in Jerusalem.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading She did not care what arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading She did not want her fortune settled on herself.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'Poor Jack!' that was all Madge's cry.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading She did not care what arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested.
used to introduce two or more possibilities
From this reading To her it did not matter whether the brewery was in Southampton or in Jerusalem.
Chapter 23 of The Beautiful Wretch by William Black holds 163 sentences, grouped into 33 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 23 holds 163 sentences of The Beautiful Wretch, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of The Beautiful Wretch by William Black exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 163 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 23 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 Beautiful Wretch by William Black on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4890 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24094 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24094, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 407 minutes of reading across 978 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Beautiful Wretch section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of The Beautiful Wretch 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 Beautiful Wretch, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
