Chapter 8 of The Cottage of Delight: A Novel is here in full — 215 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Cottage of Delight: A Novel is here in full — 215 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The evening of the party came around. John was in his room, dressing for it, and Cavanaugh was with him. "It certainly is a new wrinkle for you," the old man said, with a broad smile. "And I wouldn't bother about not knowing how to dance, either, if I was you. There will be aplenty that won't take part in that, so you won't feel odd.
Chapter 8 of The Cottage of Delight: A Novel is here in full — 215 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
take the trouble to do something; concern oneself
From this reading “"And I wouldn't bother about not knowing how to dance, either, if I was you.”
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading “"It certainly is a new wrinkle for you," the old man said, with a broad smile.”
an artistic form of nonverbal communication
From this reading “"And I wouldn't bother about not knowing how to dance, either, if I was you.”
savory dressings for salads; basically of two kinds: either the thin French or vinaigrette type or the creamy mayonnaise type
From this reading “John was in his room, dressing for it, and Cavanaugh was with him.”
evidencing the possession of inside information
From this reading “"And I wouldn't bother about not knowing how to dance, either, if I was you.”
not divisible by two
From this reading “There will be aplenty that won't take part in that, so you won't feel odd.”
an organization to gain political power
From this reading “The evening of the party came around.”
gather or contract into wrinkles or folds; pucker
From this reading “"It certainly is a new wrinkle for you," the old man said, with a broad smile.”
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 “"And I wouldn't bother about not knowing how to dance, either, if I was you.”
a man who is very old
In this reading “"It certainly is a new wrinkle for you," the old man said, with a broad smile.”
share in something
In this reading “There will be aplenty that won't take part in that, so you won't feel odd.”
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 "It certainly is a new wrinkle for you," the old man said, with a broad smile.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "And I wouldn't bother about not knowing how to dance, either, if I was you.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading John was in his room, dressing for it, and Cavanaugh was with him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There will be aplenty that won't take part in that, so you won't feel odd.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading The evening of the party came around.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There will be aplenty that won't take part in that, so you won't feel odd.
take the trouble to do something; concern oneself
From this reading "And I wouldn't bother about not knowing how to dance, either, if I was you.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading "It certainly is a new wrinkle for you," the old man said, with a broad smile.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The evening of the party came around.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading John was in his room, dressing for it, and Cavanaugh was with him.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading "It certainly is a new wrinkle for you," the old man said, with a broad smile.
an artistic form of nonverbal communication
From this reading "And I wouldn't bother about not knowing how to dance, either, if I was you.
savory dressings for salads; basically of two kinds: either the thin French or vinaigrette type or the creamy mayonnaise type
From this reading John was in his room, dressing for it, and Cavanaugh was with him.
one or the other of two
From this reading "And I wouldn't bother about not knowing how to dance, either, if I was you.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading The evening of the party came around.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading There will be aplenty that won't take part in that, so you won't feel odd.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading John was in his room, dressing for it, and Cavanaugh was with him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading John was in his room, dressing for it, and Cavanaugh was with him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading John was in his room, dressing for it, and Cavanaugh was with him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And I wouldn't bother about not knowing how to dance, either, if I was you.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "And I wouldn't bother about not knowing how to dance, either, if I was you.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "And I wouldn't bother about not knowing how to dance, either, if I was you.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading John was in his room, dressing for it, and Cavanaugh was with him.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "It certainly is a new wrinkle for you," the old man said, with a broad smile.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading John was in his room, dressing for it, and Cavanaugh was with him.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading John was in his room, dressing for it, and Cavanaugh was with him.
evidencing the possession of inside information
From this reading "And I wouldn't bother about not knowing how to dance, either, if I was you.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "It certainly is a new wrinkle for you," the old man said, with a broad smile.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading "It certainly is a new wrinkle for you," the old man said, with a broad smile.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "And I wouldn't bother about not knowing how to dance, either, if I was you.
not divisible by two
From this reading There will be aplenty that won't take part in that, so you won't feel odd.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The evening of the party came around.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "It certainly is a new wrinkle for you," the old man said, with a broad smile.
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading There will be aplenty that won't take part in that, so you won't feel odd.
an organization to gain political power
From this reading The evening of the party came around.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading John was in his room, dressing for it, and Cavanaugh was with him.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "It certainly is a new wrinkle for you," the old man said, with a broad smile.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading "It certainly is a new wrinkle for you," the old man said, with a broad smile.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading There will be aplenty that won't take part in that, so you won't feel odd.
carry out
From this reading There will be aplenty that won't take part in that, so you won't feel odd.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading There will be aplenty that won't take part in that, so you won't feel odd.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The evening of the party came around.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There will be aplenty that won't take part in that, so you won't feel odd.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "And I wouldn't bother about not knowing how to dance, either, if I was you.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading John was in his room, dressing for it, and Cavanaugh was with him.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading There will be aplenty that won't take part in that, so you won't feel odd.
in the company of; together with
From this reading John was in his room, dressing for it, and Cavanaugh was with him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There will be aplenty that won't take part in that, so you won't feel odd.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And I wouldn't bother about not knowing how to dance, either, if I was you.
gather or contract into wrinkles or folds; pucker
From this reading "It certainly is a new wrinkle for you," the old man said, with a broad smile.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "It certainly is a new wrinkle for you," the old man said, with a broad smile.
Chapter 8 of The Cottage of Delight: A Novel by Will N. (Will Nathaniel) Harben holds 215 sentences, grouped into 43 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 8 holds 215 sentences of The Cottage of Delight: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Cottage of Delight: A Novel by Will N. (Will Nathaniel) Harben exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 215 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 8 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 Cottage of Delight: A Novel by Will N. (Will Nathaniel) Harben on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9004 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33715 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #33715, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1801 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Cottage of Delight: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Cottage of Delight: 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 Cottage of Delight: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
