Chapter 13 of The Book of Susan: A Novel is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of The Book of Susan: A Novel is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
But here in New York, with Sister, things happened that made a difference.... First of all, dear, I discovered all I had lost in losing you; discovered I _couldn't_ be free. All I could do was to make some kind of a life of it; for Sister, chiefly. And I tried; oh, I did try! Then those whispered scandals about us began.
Chapter 13 of The Book of Susan: A Novel is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
for the most part
From this reading “All I could do was to make some kind of a life of it; for Sister, chiefly.”
the quality of being unlike or dissimilar
From this reading “But here in New York, with Sister, things happened that made a difference....”
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading “First of all, dear, I discovered all I had lost in losing you; discovered I _couldn't_ be free.”
grant freedom to; free from confinement
From this reading “First of all, dear, I discovered all I had lost in losing you; discovered I _couldn't_ be free.”
-ing form of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading “First of all, dear, I discovered all I had lost in losing you; discovered I _couldn't_ be free.”
plural of “scandal” — disgraceful gossip about the private lives of other people
From this reading “Then those whispered scandals about us began.”
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading “Then those whispered scandals about us began.”
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading “But here in New York, with Sister, things happened that made a difference....”
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 “All I could do was to make some kind of a life of it; for Sister, chiefly.”
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 But here in New York, with Sister, things happened that made a difference....
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Then those whispered scandals about us began.
(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 First of all, dear, I discovered all I had lost in losing you; discovered I _couldn't_ be free.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And I tried; oh, I did try!
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading First of all, dear, I discovered all I had lost in losing you; discovered I _couldn't_ be free.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Then those whispered scandals about us began.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But here in New York, with Sister, things happened that made a difference....
for the most part
From this reading All I could do was to make some kind of a life of it; for Sister, chiefly.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading All I could do was to make some kind of a life of it; for Sister, chiefly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading First of all, dear, I discovered all I had lost in losing you; discovered I _couldn't_ be free.
dearly loved
From this reading First of all, dear, I discovered all I had lost in losing you; discovered I _couldn't_ be free.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading And I tried; oh, I did try!
the quality of being unlike or dissimilar
From this reading But here in New York, with Sister, things happened that made a difference....
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading First of all, dear, I discovered all I had lost in losing you; discovered I _couldn't_ be free.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading All I could do was to make some kind of a life of it; for Sister, chiefly.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading First of all, dear, I discovered all I had lost in losing you; discovered I _couldn't_ be free.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading All I could do was to make some kind of a life of it; for Sister, chiefly.
grant freedom to; free from confinement
From this reading First of all, dear, I discovered all I had lost in losing you; discovered I _couldn't_ be free.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading First of all, dear, I discovered all I had lost in losing you; discovered I _couldn't_ be free.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading But here in New York, with Sister, things happened that made a difference....
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading But here in New York, with Sister, things happened that made a difference....
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading First of all, dear, I discovered all I had lost in losing you; discovered I _couldn't_ be free.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading But here in New York, with Sister, things happened that made a difference....
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading All I could do was to make some kind of a life of it; for Sister, chiefly.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading All I could do was to make some kind of a life of it; for Sister, chiefly.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading All I could do was to make some kind of a life of it; for Sister, chiefly.
-ing form of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading First of all, dear, I discovered all I had lost in losing you; discovered I _couldn't_ be free.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading First of all, dear, I discovered all I had lost in losing you; discovered I _couldn't_ be free.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading But here in New York, with Sister, things happened that made a difference....
engage in
From this reading All I could do was to make some kind of a life of it; for Sister, chiefly.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading But here in New York, with Sister, things happened that made a difference....
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading First of all, dear, I discovered all I had lost in losing you; discovered I _couldn't_ be free.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading And I tried; oh, I did try!
plural of “scandal” — disgraceful gossip about the private lives of other people
From this reading Then those whispered scandals about us began.
a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading But here in New York, with Sister, things happened that made a difference....
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading All I could do was to make some kind of a life of it; for Sister, chiefly.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading But here in New York, with Sister, things happened that made a difference....
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then those whispered scandals about us began.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading But here in New York, with Sister, things happened that made a difference....
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading Then those whispered scandals about us began.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading All I could do was to make some kind of a life of it; for Sister, chiefly.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading And I tried; oh, I did try!
make an effort or attempt
From this reading And I tried; oh, I did try!
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Then those whispered scandals about us began.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading All I could do was to make some kind of a life of it; for Sister, chiefly.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading Then those whispered scandals about us began.
in the company of; together with
From this reading But here in New York, with Sister, things happened that made a difference....
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading But here in New York, with Sister, things happened that made a difference....
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading First of all, dear, I discovered all I had lost in losing you; discovered I _couldn't_ be free.
Chapter 13 of The Book of Susan: A Novel by Lee Wilson Dodd holds 396 sentences, grouped into 80 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 13 holds 396 sentences of The Book of Susan: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of The Book of Susan: A Novel by Lee Wilson Dodd exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 396 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 13 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 Book of Susan: A Novel by Lee Wilson Dodd on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6416 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33400 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #33400, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 534 minutes of reading across 1284 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Book of Susan: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of The Book of Susan: A Novel 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 Book of Susan: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
