Chapter 26 of The Circular Staircase is here in full — 193 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVI
Chapter 26 of The Circular Staircase is here in full — 193 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HALSEY’S DISAPPEARANCE Nothing that had gone before had been as bad as this. The murder and Thomas’ sudden death we had been able to view in a detached sort of way. But with Halsey’s disappearance everything was altered. Our little circle, intact until now, was broken. We were no longer onlookers who saw a battle passing around them.
Chapter 26 of The Circular Staircase is here in full — 193 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
changed in form or character without becoming something else
From this reading “But with Halsey’s disappearance everything was altered.”
ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point
From this reading “Our little circle, intact until now, was broken.”
showing lack of emotional involvement
From this reading “The murder and Thomas’ sudden death we had been able to view in a detached sort of way.”
the act of leaving secretly or without explanation
From this reading “HALSEY’S DISAPPEARANCE Nothing that had gone before had been as bad as this.”
constituting the undiminished entirety; lacking nothing essential especially not damaged
From this reading “Our little circle, intact until now, was broken.”
kill intentionally and with premeditation
From this reading “The murder and Thomas’ sudden death we had been able to view in a detached sort of way.”
plural of “onlooker” — someone who looks on
From this reading “We were no longer onlookers who saw a battle passing around them.”
United States clockmaker who introduced mass production (1785-1859)
From this reading “The murder and Thomas’ sudden death we had been able to view in a detached sort of way.”
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 murder and Thomas’ sudden death we had been able to view in a detached sort of way.
(usually followed by “to”) having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something
From this reading The murder and Thomas’ sudden death we had been able to view in a detached sort of way.
changed in form or character without becoming something else
From this reading But with Halsey’s disappearance everything was altered.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The murder and Thomas’ sudden death we had been able to view in a detached sort of way.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading We were no longer onlookers who saw a battle passing around them.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading HALSEY’S DISAPPEARANCE Nothing that had gone before had been as bad as this.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading HALSEY’S DISAPPEARANCE Nothing that had gone before had been as bad as this.
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading We were no longer onlookers who saw a battle passing around them.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading HALSEY’S DISAPPEARANCE Nothing that had gone before had been as bad as this.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading HALSEY’S DISAPPEARANCE Nothing that had gone before had been as bad as this.
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading Our little circle, intact until now, was broken.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But with Halsey’s disappearance everything was altered.
ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point
From this reading Our little circle, intact until now, was broken.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading The murder and Thomas’ sudden death we had been able to view in a detached sort of way.
showing lack of emotional involvement
From this reading The murder and Thomas’ sudden death we had been able to view in a detached sort of way.
the act of leaving secretly or without explanation
From this reading HALSEY’S DISAPPEARANCE Nothing that had gone before had been as bad as this.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading But with Halsey’s disappearance everything was altered.
destroyed or killed
From this reading HALSEY’S DISAPPEARANCE Nothing that had gone before had been as bad as this.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading HALSEY’S DISAPPEARANCE Nothing that had gone before had been as bad as this.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HALSEY’S DISAPPEARANCE Nothing that had gone before had been as bad as this.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The murder and Thomas’ sudden death we had been able to view in a detached sort of way.
constituting the undiminished entirety; lacking nothing essential especially not damaged
From this reading Our little circle, intact until now, was broken.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Our little circle, intact until now, was broken.
for more time
From this reading We were no longer onlookers who saw a battle passing around them.
kill intentionally and with premeditation
From this reading The murder and Thomas’ sudden death we had been able to view in a detached sort of way.
not any; not one
From this reading We were no longer onlookers who saw a battle passing around them.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading HALSEY’S DISAPPEARANCE Nothing that had gone before had been as bad as this.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Our little circle, intact until now, was broken.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The murder and Thomas’ sudden death we had been able to view in a detached sort of way.
plural of “onlooker” — someone who looks on
From this reading We were no longer onlookers who saw a battle passing around them.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Our little circle, intact until now, was broken.
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
From this reading We were no longer onlookers who saw a battle passing around them.
cut with a saw
From this reading We were no longer onlookers who saw a battle passing around them.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading The murder and Thomas’ sudden death we had been able to view in a detached sort of way.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading The murder and Thomas’ sudden death we had been able to view in a detached sort of way.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading HALSEY’S DISAPPEARANCE Nothing that had gone before had been as bad as this.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The murder and Thomas’ sudden death we had been able to view in a detached sort of way.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading We were no longer onlookers who saw a battle passing around them.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading HALSEY’S DISAPPEARANCE Nothing that had gone before had been as bad as this.
United States clockmaker who introduced mass production (1785-1859)
From this reading The murder and Thomas’ sudden death we had been able to view in a detached sort of way.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The murder and Thomas’ sudden death we had been able to view in a detached sort of way.
up to a particular time
From this reading Our little circle, intact until now, was broken.
a way of regarding situations or topics etc.
From this reading The murder and Thomas’ sudden death we had been able to view in a detached sort of way.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But with Halsey’s disappearance everything was altered.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading The murder and Thomas’ sudden death we had been able to view in a detached sort of way.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading The murder and Thomas’ sudden death we had been able to view in a detached sort of way.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading We were no longer onlookers who saw a battle passing around them.
which person or people
From this reading We were no longer onlookers who saw a battle passing around them.
in the company of; together with
From this reading But with Halsey’s disappearance everything was altered.
Chapter 26 of The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart holds 193 sentences, grouped into 39 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 26 holds 193 sentences of The Circular Staircase, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 26 of The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 193 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4811 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #434 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #434, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 400 minutes of reading across 963 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Circular Staircase section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of The Circular Staircase 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 Circular Staircase, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
