Chapter 26 of The Cathedral: A Novel is here in full — 482 sentences across 97 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVI
Chapter 26 of The Cathedral: A Novel is here in full — 482 sentences across 97 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Two in the House A letter from Falk to Joan. Dear Joan--Mother has been here. I could get nothing out of her. I had only one thing to say--that she must go back to father. That was the one thing that she asserted, over and over again, that she never would.
Chapter 26 of The Cathedral: A Novel is here in full — 482 sentences across 97 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/96 · 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.
confidently declared to be so
From this reading “That was the one thing that she asserted, over and over again, that she never would.”
dearly loved
From this reading “Dear Joan--Mother has been here.”
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading “I had only one thing to say--that she must go back to father.”
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “I could get nothing out of her.”
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading “Two in the House A letter from Falk to Joan.”
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading “Two in the House A letter from Falk to Joan.”
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading “Dear Joan--Mother has been here.”
a special situation
From this reading “I had only one thing to say--that she must go back to father.”
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 Two in the House A letter from Falk to Joan.
anew
From this reading That was the one thing that she asserted, over and over again, that she never would.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading That was the one thing that she asserted, over and over again, that she never would.
confidently declared to be so
From this reading That was the one thing that she asserted, over and over again, that she never would.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading I had only one thing to say--that she must go back to father.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Dear Joan--Mother has been here.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading I could get nothing out of her.
dearly loved
From this reading Dear Joan--Mother has been here.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Two in the House A letter from Falk to Joan.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading I had only one thing to say--that she must go back to father.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Two in the House A letter from Falk to Joan.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading I could get nothing out of her.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading I had only one thing to say--that she must go back to father.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I had only one thing to say--that she must go back to father.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Dear Joan--Mother has been here.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I could get nothing out of her.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Dear Joan--Mother has been here.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Two in the House A letter from Falk to Joan.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I could get nothing out of her.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Two in the House A letter from Falk to Joan.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Two in the House A letter from Falk to Joan.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading Two in the House A letter from Falk to Joan.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Dear Joan--Mother has been here.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading I had only one thing to say--that she must go back to father.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading That was the one thing that she asserted, over and over again, that she never would.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading I could get nothing out of her.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I could get nothing out of her.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading I had only one thing to say--that she must go back to father.
and nothing more
From this reading I had only one thing to say--that she must go back to father.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading I could get nothing out of her.
above and across; more than
From this reading That was the one thing that she asserted, over and over again, that she never would.
express in words
From this reading I had only one thing to say--that she must go back to father.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I had only one thing to say--that she must go back to father.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I had only one thing to say--that she must go back to father.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Two in the House A letter from Falk to Joan.
a special situation
From this reading I had only one thing to say--that she must go back to father.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Two in the House A letter from Falk to Joan.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Two in the House A letter from Falk to Joan.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That was the one thing that she asserted, over and over again, that she never would.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading That was the one thing that she asserted, over and over again, that she never would.
Chapter 26 of The Cathedral: A Novel by Hugh Walpole holds 482 sentences, grouped into 97 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 26 holds 482 sentences of The Cathedral: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 97 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 26 of The Cathedral: A Novel by Hugh Walpole exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 482 sentences, grouped into 97 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 97 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 97 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 26 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 Cathedral: A Novel by Hugh Walpole on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10176 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8135 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8135, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2036 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Cathedral: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Cathedral: 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 Cathedral: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
