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The Circular Staircase

Chapter XXVII · Chapter 27

Chapter 27 of The Circular Staircase is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Mary Roberts Rinehart • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for The Circular Staircase

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

WHO IS NINA CARRINGTON?

The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

We ate only when Liddy brought in a tray, and then very little.

The papers, of course, had got hold of the story, and we were besieged by newspaper men.

From all over the country false clues came pouring in and raised hopes that crumbled again to nothing.

Narrator

Speed 0.75x

AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter XXVII Reading 1/28

The Circular Staircase

Chapter XXVII · Chapter 27

Chapter 27 of The Circular Staircase is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/28 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

WHO IS NINA CARRINGTON?

Line 2

The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

Line 3

We ate only when Liddy brought in a tray, and then very little.

Line 4

The papers, of course, had got hold of the story, and we were besieged by newspaper men.

Line 5

From all over the country false clues came pouring in and raised hopes that crumbled again to nothing.

All words in this reading · 57

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.

a

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

again

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading From all over the country false clues came pouring in and raised hopes that crumbled again to nothing.

all

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading From all over the country false clues came pouring in and raised hopes that crumbled again to nothing.

and

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We ate only when Liddy brought in a tray, and then very little.

ate

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We ate only when Liddy brought in a tray, and then very little.

besieged

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The papers, of course, had got hold of the story, and we were besieged by newspaper men.

brought

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We ate only when Liddy brought in a tray, and then very little.

by

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The papers, of course, had got hold of the story, and we were besieged by newspaper men.

came

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading From all over the country false clues came pouring in and raised hopes that crumbled again to nothing.

CARRINGTON

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading WHO IS NINA CARRINGTON?

clues

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading From all over the country false clues came pouring in and raised hopes that crumbled again to nothing.

country

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading From all over the country false clues came pouring in and raised hopes that crumbled again to nothing.

course

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The papers, of course, had got hold of the story, and we were besieged by newspaper men.

crumbled

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading From all over the country false clues came pouring in and raised hopes that crumbled again to nothing.

days

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

dreadful

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

existed

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

false

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading From all over the country false clues came pouring in and raised hopes that crumbled again to nothing.

following

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

four

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

from

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

got

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The papers, of course, had got hold of the story, and we were besieged by newspaper men.

had

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The papers, of course, had got hold of the story, and we were besieged by newspaper men.

hold

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The papers, of course, had got hold of the story, and we were besieged by newspaper men.

hopes

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading From all over the country false clues came pouring in and raised hopes that crumbled again to nothing.

in

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

IS

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading WHO IS NINA CARRINGTON?

Liddy

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We ate only when Liddy brought in a tray, and then very little.

little

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We ate only when Liddy brought in a tray, and then very little.

lived

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

men

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The papers, of course, had got hold of the story, and we were besieged by newspaper men.

most

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

newspaper

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The papers, of course, had got hold of the story, and we were besieged by newspaper men.

NINA

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading WHO IS NINA CARRINGTON?

nothing

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading From all over the country false clues came pouring in and raised hopes that crumbled again to nothing.

of

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

only

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We ate only when Liddy brought in a tray, and then very little.

or

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

over

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading From all over the country false clues came pouring in and raised hopes that crumbled again to nothing.

papers

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The papers, of course, had got hold of the story, and we were besieged by newspaper men.

pouring

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading From all over the country false clues came pouring in and raised hopes that crumbled again to nothing.

raised

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading From all over the country false clues came pouring in and raised hopes that crumbled again to nothing.

Saturday

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

state

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

story

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The papers, of course, had got hold of the story, and we were besieged by newspaper men.

suspense

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

that

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading From all over the country false clues came pouring in and raised hopes that crumbled again to nothing.

The

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

then

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We ate only when Liddy brought in a tray, and then very little.

to

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

tray

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We ate only when Liddy brought in a tray, and then very little.

Tuesday

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

very

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We ate only when Liddy brought in a tray, and then very little.

we

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The four days, from Saturday to the following Tuesday, we lived, or existed, in a state of the most dreadful suspense.

were

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The papers, of course, had got hold of the story, and we were besieged by newspaper men.

when

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We ate only when Liddy brought in a tray, and then very little.

WHO

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading WHO IS NINA CARRINGTON?

Chapter 27 of The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart holds 140 sentences, grouped into 28 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.

What does chapter 27 of The Circular Staircase contain?

Chapter 27 holds 140 sentences of The Circular Staircase, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 27 of The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 140 sentences, grouped into 28 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.

How do I study chapter 27 of The Circular Staircase?

Work through the 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 28 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.

Can chapter 27 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 27 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.

Questions about reading The Circular Staircase

Common questions about reading The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Circular Staircase?

Yes. All 4811 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #434 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Circular Staircase is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #434, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Circular Staircase take to read?

About 400 minutes of reading across 963 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Circular Staircase section by section

How to work through The Circular Staircase section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

Open a chapter

Choose one of the 34 chapters of The Circular Staircase to begin.
Read one section

Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Listen and tap

Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Circular Staircase

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Circular Staircase, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Story: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Circular Staircase; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Middle-aged: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Circular Staircase; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Spinster: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Circular Staircase; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Deserted: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Circular Staircase; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.