Chapter 1 of The Crown of Life is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Crown of Life is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"A little stony town at the wild end of Wensleydale. Delightful for a few months, but very grim all the rest of the year. Has he any society there?" "None outside his home, I think. He sits by the fire and reads Dante."
Chapter 1 of The Crown of Life is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 9/37 · 5 reading units · Lines 41–45
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.
an Italian poet famous for writing the Divine Comedy that describes a journey through Hell and purgatory and paradise guided by Virgil and his idealized Beatrice (1265-1321)
From this reading “He sits by the fire and reads Dante."”
greatly pleasing or entertaining
From this reading “Delightful for a few months, but very grim all the rest of the year.”
not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty
From this reading “Delightful for a few months, but very grim all the rest of the year.”
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading “"None outside his home, I think.”
plural of “read” — something that is read
From this reading “He sits by the fire and reads Dante."”
third-person singular of “sit” — be seated
From this reading “He sits by the fire and reads Dante."”
an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization
From this reading “Has he any society there?"”
abounding in rocks or stones
From this reading “"A little stony town at the wild end of Wensleydale.”
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 "A little stony town at the wild end of Wensleydale.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Delightful for a few months, but very grim all the rest of the year.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He sits by the fire and reads Dante."
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Has he any society there?"
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "A little stony town at the wild end of Wensleydale.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Delightful for a few months, but very grim all the rest of the year.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading He sits by the fire and reads Dante."
an Italian poet famous for writing the Divine Comedy that describes a journey through Hell and purgatory and paradise guided by Virgil and his idealized Beatrice (1265-1321)
From this reading He sits by the fire and reads Dante."
greatly pleasing or entertaining
From this reading Delightful for a few months, but very grim all the rest of the year.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading "A little stony town at the wild end of Wensleydale.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Delightful for a few months, but very grim all the rest of the year.
start firing a weapon
From this reading He sits by the fire and reads Dante."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Delightful for a few months, but very grim all the rest of the year.
not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty
From this reading Delightful for a few months, but very grim all the rest of the year.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Has he any society there?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Has he any society there?"
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "None outside his home, I think.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading "None outside his home, I think.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "None outside his home, I think.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "A little stony town at the wild end of Wensleydale.
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading Delightful for a few months, but very grim all the rest of the year.
not one, and not any
From this reading "None outside his home, I think.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "A little stony town at the wild end of Wensleydale.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading "None outside his home, I think.
plural of “read” — something that is read
From this reading He sits by the fire and reads Dante."
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading Delightful for a few months, but very grim all the rest of the year.
third-person singular of “sit” — be seated
From this reading He sits by the fire and reads Dante."
an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization
From this reading Has he any society there?"
abounding in rocks or stones
From this reading "A little stony town at the wild end of Wensleydale.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "A little stony town at the wild end of Wensleydale.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Has he any society there?"
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "None outside his home, I think.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading "A little stony town at the wild end of Wensleydale.
precisely as stated
From this reading Delightful for a few months, but very grim all the rest of the year.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "A little stony town at the wild end of Wensleydale.
marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading "A little stony town at the wild end of Wensleydale.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading Delightful for a few months, but very grim all the rest of the year.
Chapter 1 of The Crown of Life by George Gissing holds 185 sentences, grouped into 37 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 185 sentences of The Crown of Life, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Crown of Life by George Gissing exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 185 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 Crown of Life by George Gissing on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7937 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4541 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4541, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1588 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Crown of Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of The Crown of Life 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 Crown of Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
