Chapter 1 of The Club of Queer Trades is here in full — 476 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Club of Queer Trades is here in full — 476 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Major Brown, Major Brown, where does the jackal dwell?” Brown was decisive and silent in action. He strode to the front door and looked out. There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks. On returning, he found the lady in green trembling.
Chapter 1 of The Club of Queer Trades is here in full — 476 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 33/95 · 5 reading units · Lines 161–165
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.
determining or having the power to determine an outcome
From this reading “Brown was decisive and silent in action.”
think moodily or anxiously about something
From this reading ““Major Brown, Major Brown, where does the jackal dwell?””
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading “There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.”
Old World nocturnal canine mammal closely related to the dog; smaller than a wolf; sometimes hunts in a pack but usually singly or as a member of a pair
From this reading ““Major Brown, Major Brown, where does the jackal dwell?””
plural of “lamp” — an artificial source of visible illumination
From this reading “There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.”
yellow oval fruit with juicy acidic flesh
From this reading “There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.”
plural of “spark” — a momentary flash of light
From this reading “There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.”
inflected form of “stride” — walk with long steps
From this reading “He strode to the front door and looked out.”
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.
something done (usually as opposed to something said)
From this reading Brown was decisive and silent in action.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Brown was decisive and silent in action.
the event consisting of the start of something
From this reading There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading “Major Brown, Major Brown, where does the jackal dwell?”
determining or having the power to determine an outcome
From this reading Brown was decisive and silent in action.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Major Brown, Major Brown, where does the jackal dwell?”
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading He strode to the front door and looked out.
think moodily or anxiously about something
From this reading “Major Brown, Major Brown, where does the jackal dwell?”
set up or found
From this reading On returning, he found the lady in green trembling.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading He strode to the front door and looked out.
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.
green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass
From this reading On returning, he found the lady in green trembling.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He strode to the front door and looked out.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Brown was decisive and silent in action.
Old World nocturnal canine mammal closely related to the dog; smaller than a wolf; sometimes hunts in a pack but usually singly or as a member of a pair
From this reading “Major Brown, Major Brown, where does the jackal dwell?”
a polite name for any woman
From this reading On returning, he found the lady in green trembling.
plural of “lamp” — an artificial source of visible illumination
From this reading There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.
yellow oval fruit with juicy acidic flesh
From this reading There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He strode to the front door and looked out.
of greater importance or stature or rank
From this reading “Major Brown, Major Brown, where does the jackal dwell?”
not any; not one
From this reading There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On returning, he found the lady in green trembling.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He strode to the front door and looked out.
tending to return to an earlier state
From this reading On returning, he found the lady in green trembling.
a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.
marked by absence of sound
From this reading Brown was decisive and silent in action.
plural of “spark” — a momentary flash of light
From this reading There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.
inflected form of “stride” — walk with long steps
From this reading He strode to the front door and looked out.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Major Brown, Major Brown, where does the jackal dwell?”
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He strode to the front door and looked out.
a shaky motion
From this reading On returning, he found the lady in green trembling.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Brown was decisive and silent in action.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There was no sign of life in the blue gloaming of the street, where one or two lamps were beginning to light their lemon sparks.
in or at the place that
From this reading “Major Brown, Major Brown, where does the jackal dwell?”
Chapter 1 of The Club of Queer Trades by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton holds 476 sentences, grouped into 96 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 1 holds 476 sentences of The Club of Queer Trades, unabridged, divided into 96 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Club of Queer Trades by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 476 sentences, grouped into 96 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 96 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 96 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 1 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 Club of Queer Trades by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2767 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1696 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1696, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 230 minutes of reading across 554 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Club of Queer Trades section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Club of Queer Trades 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 Club of Queer Trades, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
