Chapter 2 of The Crooked House is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Crooked House is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE ENDLESS GARDEN Confusion followed. Copplestone knelt beside her, calling her by name in a strange excess of fear. The theatrical manager tore a flask from his pocket, and administered its contents freely. The spirit revived her. She opened her eyes.
Chapter 2 of The Crooked House is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
past form of “administer” — work in an administrative capacity; supervise or be in charge of
From this reading “The theatrical manager tore a flask from his pocket, and administered its contents freely.”
tiresomely long; seemingly without end
From this reading “THE ENDLESS GARDEN Confusion followed.”
a quantity much larger than is needed
From this reading “Copplestone knelt beside her, calling her by name in a strange excess of fear.”
bottle that has a narrow neck
From this reading “The theatrical manager tore a flask from his pocket, and administered its contents freely.”
inflected form of “kneel” — rest one's weight on one's knees
From this reading “Copplestone knelt beside her, calling her by name in a strange excess of fear.”
someone who controls resources and expenditures
From this reading “The theatrical manager tore a flask from his pocket, and administered its contents freely.”
restored to consciousness or life or vigor
From this reading “The spirit revived her.”
of or relating to the theater
From this reading “The theatrical manager tore a flask from his pocket, and administered its contents freely.”
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 Copplestone knelt beside her, calling her by name in a strange excess of fear.
past form of “administer” — work in an administrative capacity; supervise or be in charge of
From this reading The theatrical manager tore a flask from his pocket, and administered its contents freely.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The theatrical manager tore a flask from his pocket, and administered its contents freely.
next to; at the side of
From this reading Copplestone knelt beside her, calling her by name in a strange excess of fear.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Copplestone knelt beside her, calling her by name in a strange excess of fear.
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading Copplestone knelt beside her, calling her by name in a strange excess of fear.
disorder resulting from a failure to behave predictably
From this reading THE ENDLESS GARDEN Confusion followed.
(usually plural) everything that is included in a collection and that is held or included in something
From this reading The theatrical manager tore a flask from his pocket, and administered its contents freely.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Copplestone knelt beside her, calling her by name in a strange excess of fear.
tiresomely long; seemingly without end
From this reading THE ENDLESS GARDEN Confusion followed.
a quantity much larger than is needed
From this reading Copplestone knelt beside her, calling her by name in a strange excess of fear.
opinion or judgment
From this reading She opened her eyes.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading Copplestone knelt beside her, calling her by name in a strange excess of fear.
bottle that has a narrow neck
From this reading The theatrical manager tore a flask from his pocket, and administered its contents freely.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading THE ENDLESS GARDEN Confusion followed.
in a free manner
From this reading The theatrical manager tore a flask from his pocket, and administered its contents freely.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The theatrical manager tore a flask from his pocket, and administered its contents freely.
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading THE ENDLESS GARDEN Confusion followed.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Copplestone knelt beside her, calling her by name in a strange excess of fear.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The theatrical manager tore a flask from his pocket, and administered its contents freely.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Copplestone knelt beside her, calling her by name in a strange excess of fear.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading The theatrical manager tore a flask from his pocket, and administered its contents freely.
inflected form of “kneel” — rest one's weight on one's knees
From this reading Copplestone knelt beside her, calling her by name in a strange excess of fear.
someone who controls resources and expenditures
From this reading The theatrical manager tore a flask from his pocket, and administered its contents freely.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Copplestone knelt beside her, calling her by name in a strange excess of fear.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Copplestone knelt beside her, calling her by name in a strange excess of fear.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading She opened her eyes.
a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading The theatrical manager tore a flask from his pocket, and administered its contents freely.
restored to consciousness or life or vigor
From this reading The spirit revived her.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She opened her eyes.
the vital principle or animating force within living things
From this reading The spirit revived her.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading Copplestone knelt beside her, calling her by name in a strange excess of fear.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE ENDLESS GARDEN Confusion followed.
of or relating to the theater
From this reading The theatrical manager tore a flask from his pocket, and administered its contents freely.
commonly the lowest molding at the base of a column
From this reading The theatrical manager tore a flask from his pocket, and administered its contents freely.
Chapter 2 of The Crooked House by Brandon Fleming holds 201 sentences, grouped into 41 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 2 holds 201 sentences of The Crooked House, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Crooked House by Brandon Fleming exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 201 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 2 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 Crooked House by Brandon Fleming on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4272 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22820 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22820, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 356 minutes of reading across 855 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Crooked House section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of The Crooked House 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 Crooked House, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
