Chapter 17 of The Crooked House is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Crooked House is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other. Mrs. Astley-Rolfe greeted him in a friendly fashion. She showed considerable strain--but, otherwise, was looking her best. And her best was delightful. "Good morning, inspector," she said languidly.
Chapter 17 of The Crooked House is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
greatly pleasing or entertaining
From this reading “And her best was delightful.”
a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers
From this reading “THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.”
past form of “greet” — express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading “Mrs. Astley-Rolfe greeted him in a friendly fashion.”
a high ranking police officer
From this reading “THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.”
a light shade of red
From this reading “THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.”
plural of “second” — 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading “THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.”
(physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces
From this reading “She showed considerable strain--but, otherwise, was looking her best.”
a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter
From this reading “THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.”
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 THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
later than; following
From this reading THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And her best was delightful.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Astley-Rolfe greeted him in a friendly fashion.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading She showed considerable strain--but, otherwise, was looking her best.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading She showed considerable strain--but, otherwise, was looking her best.
large or relatively large in number or amount or extent or degree
From this reading She showed considerable strain--but, otherwise, was looking her best.
greatly pleasing or entertaining
From this reading And her best was delightful.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Mrs. Astley-Rolfe greeted him in a friendly fashion.
a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers
From this reading THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
characteristic of or befitting a friend
From this reading Mrs. Astley-Rolfe greeted him in a friendly fashion.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "Good morning, inspector," she said languidly.
past form of “greet” — express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading Mrs. Astley-Rolfe greeted him in a friendly fashion.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She showed considerable strain--but, otherwise, was looking her best.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Mrs. Astley-Rolfe greeted him in a friendly fashion.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Mrs. Astley-Rolfe greeted him in a friendly fashion.
a high ranking police officer
From this reading THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
in a languid and lethargic manner
From this reading "Good morning, inspector," she said languidly.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading She showed considerable strain--but, otherwise, was looking her best.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading "Good morning, inspector," she said languidly.
a form of address for a man
From this reading THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Astley-Rolfe greeted him in a friendly fashion.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
in other respects or ways
From this reading She showed considerable strain--but, otherwise, was looking her best.
a light shade of red
From this reading THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Good morning, inspector," she said languidly.
plural of “second” — 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She showed considerable strain--but, otherwise, was looking her best.
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading She showed considerable strain--but, otherwise, was looking her best.
(physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces
From this reading She showed considerable strain--but, otherwise, was looking her best.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She showed considerable strain--but, otherwise, was looking her best.
a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter
From this reading THE WIT OF THE PINK LADY Inspector Fay entered the room at one end a few seconds after Mr. Gluckstein left it at the other.
Chapter 17 of The Crooked House by Brandon Fleming holds 116 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 17 holds 116 sentences of The Crooked House, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Crooked House by Brandon Fleming exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 116 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 17 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.
