Chapter 39 of The Betrayal is here in full — 70 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIX
Chapter 39 of The Betrayal is here in full — 70 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE THEORIES OF A NOVELIST The novelist smiled. He had been buttonholed by a very great man, which pleased him. He raised his voice a little. There were others standing around. He fancied himself already the centre of the group.
Chapter 39 of The Betrayal is here in full — 70 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/14 · 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.
past form of “buttonhole” — detain in conversation by or as if by holding on to the outer garments of; as for political or economic favors
From this reading “He had been buttonholed by a very great man, which pleased him.”
a low-lying region in central France
From this reading “He fancied himself already the centre of the group.”
formed or conceived by the imagination
From this reading “He fancied himself already the centre of the group.”
any number of entities (members) considered as a unit
From this reading “He fancied himself already the centre of the group.”
one who writes novels
From this reading “THE THEORIES OF A NOVELIST The novelist smiled.”
experiencing or manifesting pleasure
From this reading “He had been buttonholed by a very great man, which pleased him.”
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading “THE THEORIES OF A NOVELIST The novelist smiled.”
plural of “theory” — a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena
From this reading “THE THEORIES OF A NOVELIST The novelist smiled.”
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 THE THEORIES OF A NOVELIST The novelist smiled.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading He fancied himself already the centre of the group.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading There were others standing around.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading He had been buttonholed by a very great man, which pleased him.
past form of “buttonhole” — detain in conversation by or as if by holding on to the outer garments of; as for political or economic favors
From this reading He had been buttonholed by a very great man, which pleased him.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading He had been buttonholed by a very great man, which pleased him.
a low-lying region in central France
From this reading He fancied himself already the centre of the group.
formed or conceived by the imagination
From this reading He fancied himself already the centre of the group.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading He had been buttonholed by a very great man, which pleased him.
any number of entities (members) considered as a unit
From this reading He fancied himself already the centre of the group.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had been buttonholed by a very great man, which pleased him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had been buttonholed by a very great man, which pleased him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He had been buttonholed by a very great man, which pleased him.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He fancied himself already the centre of the group.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He raised his voice a little.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading He raised his voice a little.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading He had been buttonholed by a very great man, which pleased him.
one who writes novels
From this reading THE THEORIES OF A NOVELIST The novelist smiled.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE THEORIES OF A NOVELIST The novelist smiled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There were others standing around.
experiencing or manifesting pleasure
From this reading He had been buttonholed by a very great man, which pleased him.
located or moved above the surround or above the normal position
From this reading He raised his voice a little.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading THE THEORIES OF A NOVELIST The novelist smiled.
having a supporting base
From this reading There were others standing around.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE THEORIES OF A NOVELIST The novelist smiled.
plural of “theory” — a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena
From this reading THE THEORIES OF A NOVELIST The novelist smiled.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There were others standing around.
precisely as stated
From this reading He had been buttonholed by a very great man, which pleased him.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading He raised his voice a little.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There were others standing around.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading He had been buttonholed by a very great man, which pleased him.
Chapter 39 of The Betrayal by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim holds 70 sentences, grouped into 14 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 39 holds 70 sentences of The Betrayal, unabridged, divided into 14 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 39 of The Betrayal by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 70 sentences, grouped into 14 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 14 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 14 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 39 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 Betrayal by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6547 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #16998 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #16998, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 545 minutes of reading across 1310 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Betrayal section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The Betrayal 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 Betrayal, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
