Chapter 3 of The Crooked House is here in full — 120 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Crooked House is here in full — 120 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
DESTRUCTION A deep-toned clock in the house struck twelve. Rain began to fall. A few moments later the financier hurried across the lawns with his collar turned up. The danseuse followed him. She seemed a disappointed and indignant woman.
Chapter 3 of The Crooked House is here in full — 120 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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.
a timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading “DESTRUCTION A deep-toned clock in the house struck twelve.”
a band that fits around the neck and is usually folded over
From this reading “A few moments later the financier hurried across the lawns with his collar turned up.”
the termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired or no longer exists
From this reading “DESTRUCTION A deep-toned clock in the house struck twelve.”
disappointingly unsuccessful
From this reading “She seemed a disappointed and indignant woman.”
a person skilled in large scale financial transactions
From this reading “A few moments later the financier hurried across the lawns with his collar turned up.”
moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
From this reading “A few moments later the financier hurried across the lawns with his collar turned up.”
angered at something unjust or wrong
From this reading “She seemed a disappointed and indignant woman.”
plural of “lawn” — a field of cultivated and mowed grass
From this reading “A few moments later the financier hurried across the lawns with his collar turned up.”
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 DESTRUCTION A deep-toned clock in the house struck twelve.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading A few moments later the financier hurried across the lawns with his collar turned up.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She seemed a disappointed and indignant woman.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Rain began to fall.
a timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading DESTRUCTION A deep-toned clock in the house struck twelve.
a band that fits around the neck and is usually folded over
From this reading A few moments later the financier hurried across the lawns with his collar turned up.
a female ballet dancer
From this reading The danseuse followed him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DESTRUCTION A deep-toned clock in the house struck twelve.
the termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired or no longer exists
From this reading DESTRUCTION A deep-toned clock in the house struck twelve.
disappointingly unsuccessful
From this reading She seemed a disappointed and indignant woman.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading Rain began to fall.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading A few moments later the financier hurried across the lawns with his collar turned up.
a person skilled in large scale financial transactions
From this reading A few moments later the financier hurried across the lawns with his collar turned up.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading The danseuse followed him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The danseuse followed him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A few moments later the financier hurried across the lawns with his collar turned up.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading DESTRUCTION A deep-toned clock in the house struck twelve.
moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
From this reading A few moments later the financier hurried across the lawns with his collar turned up.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading DESTRUCTION A deep-toned clock in the house struck twelve.
angered at something unjust or wrong
From this reading She seemed a disappointed and indignant woman.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading A few moments later the financier hurried across the lawns with his collar turned up.
plural of “lawn” — a field of cultivated and mowed grass
From this reading A few moments later the financier hurried across the lawns with his collar turned up.
plural of “moment” — a particular point in time
From this reading A few moments later the financier hurried across the lawns with his collar turned up.
water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere
From this reading Rain began to fall.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading She seemed a disappointed and indignant woman.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She seemed a disappointed and indignant woman.
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading DESTRUCTION A deep-toned clock in the house struck twelve.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading DESTRUCTION A deep-toned clock in the house struck twelve.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Rain began to fall.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading A few moments later the financier hurried across the lawns with his collar turned up.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one
From this reading DESTRUCTION A deep-toned clock in the house struck twelve.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading A few moments later the financier hurried across the lawns with his collar turned up.
in the company of; together with
From this reading A few moments later the financier hurried across the lawns with his collar turned up.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading She seemed a disappointed and indignant woman.
Chapter 3 of The Crooked House by Brandon Fleming holds 120 sentences, grouped into 24 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 3 holds 120 sentences of The Crooked House, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Crooked House by Brandon Fleming exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 120 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 3 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.
