Chapter 17 of The curse of the Reckaviles is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The curse of the Reckaviles is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Marriage “When are we going to Italy?” asked Carlotta. She was sitting happily on Hugh’s knee, and the sunlight came through the window of the old Inn. “I have got the tickets, and booked our passages. The boat sails on Saturday from Dover, and we go through France by train.” She clapped her hands with pleasure.
Chapter 17 of The curse of the Reckaviles is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
reserved in advance
From this reading ““I have got the tickets, and booked our passages.”
inflected form of “clap” — put quickly or forcibly
From this reading “She clapped her hands with pleasure.”
the capital of the state of Delaware
From this reading “The boat sails on Saturday from Dover, and we go through France by train.””
in a joyous manner
From this reading “She was sitting happily on Hugh’s knee, and the sunlight came through the window of the old Inn.”
plural of “passage” — the act of passing from one state or place to the next
From this reading ““I have got the tickets, and booked our passages.”
plural of “sail” — a large piece of fabric (usually canvas fabric) by means of which wind is used to propel a sailing vessel
From this reading “The boat sails on Saturday from Dover, and we go through France by train.””
the rays of the sun
From this reading “She was sitting happily on Hugh’s knee, and the sunlight came through the window of the old Inn.”
plural of “ticket” — a commercial document showing that the holder is entitled to something (as to ride on public transportation or to enter a public entertainment)
From this reading ““I have got the tickets, and booked our passages.”
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 “She was sitting happily on Hugh’s knee, and the sunlight came through the window of the old Inn.”
undergo or live through a difficult experience
In this reading “The boat sails on Saturday from Dover, and we go through France by train.””
In this reading “She clapped her hands with pleasure.”
In this reading “The boat sails on Saturday from Dover, and we go through France by train.””
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She was sitting happily on Hugh’s knee, and the sunlight came through the window of the old Inn.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The Marriage “When are we going to Italy?” asked Carlotta.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading The Marriage “When are we going to Italy?” asked Carlotta.
a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading The boat sails on Saturday from Dover, and we go through France by train.”
reserved in advance
From this reading “I have got the tickets, and booked our passages.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The boat sails on Saturday from Dover, and we go through France by train.”
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading She was sitting happily on Hugh’s knee, and the sunlight came through the window of the old Inn.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Marriage “When are we going to Italy?” asked Carlotta.
inflected form of “clap” — put quickly or forcibly
From this reading She clapped her hands with pleasure.
the capital of the state of Delaware
From this reading The boat sails on Saturday from Dover, and we go through France by train.”
a republic in western Europe; the largest country wholly in Europe
From this reading The boat sails on Saturday from Dover, and we go through France by train.”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The boat sails on Saturday from Dover, and we go through France by train.”
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading The boat sails on Saturday from Dover, and we go through France by train.”
the act of departing
From this reading The Marriage “When are we going to Italy?” asked Carlotta.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “I have got the tickets, and booked our passages.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading She clapped her hands with pleasure.
in a joyous manner
From this reading She was sitting happily on Hugh’s knee, and the sunlight came through the window of the old Inn.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “I have got the tickets, and booked our passages.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She clapped her hands with pleasure.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She was sitting happily on Hugh’s knee, and the sunlight came through the window of the old Inn.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I have got the tickets, and booked our passages.
a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
From this reading She was sitting happily on Hugh’s knee, and the sunlight came through the window of the old Inn.
a republic in southern Europe on the Italian Peninsula; was the core of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire between the 4th century BC and the 5th century AD
From this reading The Marriage “When are we going to Italy?” asked Carlotta.
hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading She was sitting happily on Hugh’s knee, and the sunlight came through the window of the old Inn.
the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
From this reading The Marriage “When are we going to Italy?” asked Carlotta.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She was sitting happily on Hugh’s knee, and the sunlight came through the window of the old Inn.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading She was sitting happily on Hugh’s knee, and the sunlight came through the window of the old Inn.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She was sitting happily on Hugh’s knee, and the sunlight came through the window of the old Inn.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading “I have got the tickets, and booked our passages.
plural of “passage” — the act of passing from one state or place to the next
From this reading “I have got the tickets, and booked our passages.
a fundamental feeling that is hard to define but that people desire to experience
From this reading She clapped her hands with pleasure.
plural of “sail” — a large piece of fabric (usually canvas fabric) by means of which wind is used to propel a sailing vessel
From this reading The boat sails on Saturday from Dover, and we go through France by train.”
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading The boat sails on Saturday from Dover, and we go through France by train.”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was sitting happily on Hugh’s knee, and the sunlight came through the window of the old Inn.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading She was sitting happily on Hugh’s knee, and the sunlight came through the window of the old Inn.
the rays of the sun
From this reading She was sitting happily on Hugh’s knee, and the sunlight came through the window of the old Inn.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Marriage “When are we going to Italy?” asked Carlotta.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading She was sitting happily on Hugh’s knee, and the sunlight came through the window of the old Inn.
plural of “ticket” — a commercial document showing that the holder is entitled to something (as to ride on public transportation or to enter a public entertainment)
From this reading “I have got the tickets, and booked our passages.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The Marriage “When are we going to Italy?” asked Carlotta.
create by training and teaching
From this reading The boat sails on Saturday from Dover, and we go through France by train.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was sitting happily on Hugh’s knee, and the sunlight came through the window of the old Inn.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading The Marriage “When are we going to Italy?” asked Carlotta.
at the time that
From this reading The Marriage “When are we going to Italy?” asked Carlotta.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading She was sitting happily on Hugh’s knee, and the sunlight came through the window of the old Inn.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She clapped her hands with pleasure.
Chapter 17 of The curse of the Reckaviles by Walter S. (Walter Sidney) Masterman holds 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 186 sentences of The curse of the Reckaviles, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The curse of the Reckaviles by Walter S. (Walter Sidney) Masterman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 curse of the Reckaviles by Walter S. (Walter Sidney) Masterman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3440 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #72629 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #72629, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 286 minutes of reading across 688 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The curse of the Reckaviles section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of The curse of the Reckaviles 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 curse of the Reckaviles, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
