Chapter 11 of The Daughter of a Soldier is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of The Daughter of a Soldier is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE GRAND BLÜTHNER. There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien. To all appearance, it was Maureen who was the cause of the misery. It was not that she ever complained, but that she looked fagged and lifeless. She locked her piano, the beautiful Blüthner.
Chapter 11 of The Daughter of a Soldier is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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 “complain” — express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness
From this reading “It was not that she ever complained, but that she looked fagged and lifeless.”
deprived of life; no longer living
From this reading “It was not that she ever complained, but that she looked fagged and lifeless.”
past form of “lock” — fasten with a lock
From this reading “She locked her piano, the beautiful Blüthner.”
a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune
From this reading “To all appearance, it was Maureen who was the cause of the misery.”
Irish writer (born in 1932)
From this reading “There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.”
past form of “pervade” — spread or diffuse through
From this reading “There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.”
a keyboard instrument that is played by depressing keys that cause hammers to strike tuned strings and produce sounds
From this reading “She locked her piano, the beautiful Blüthner.”
experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent
From this reading “There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.”
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 “There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.”
In this reading “There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.”
In this reading “To all appearance, it was Maureen who was the cause of the misery.”
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 There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
(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 To all appearance, it was Maureen who was the cause of the misery.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was not that she ever complained, but that she looked fagged and lifeless.
outward or visible aspect of a person or thing
From this reading To all appearance, it was Maureen who was the cause of the misery.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading She locked her piano, the beautiful Blüthner.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE GRAND BLÜTHNER.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading It was not that she ever complained, but that she looked fagged and lifeless.
events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something
From this reading To all appearance, it was Maureen who was the cause of the misery.
past form of “complain” — express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness
From this reading It was not that she ever complained, but that she looked fagged and lifeless.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
divisible by two
From this reading There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
at any time
From this reading It was not that she ever complained, but that she looked fagged and lifeless.
drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted
From this reading It was not that she ever complained, but that she looked fagged and lifeless.
the experiencing of affective and emotional states
From this reading There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
of behavior that is impressive and ambitious in scale or scope
From this reading THE GRAND BLÜTHNER.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She locked her piano, the beautiful Blüthner.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
deprived of life; no longer living
From this reading It was not that she ever complained, but that she looked fagged and lifeless.
past form of “lock” — fasten with a lock
From this reading She locked her piano, the beautiful Blüthner.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading It was not that she ever complained, but that she looked fagged and lifeless.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading To all appearance, it was Maureen who was the cause of the misery.
a state of ill-being due to affliction or misfortune
From this reading To all appearance, it was Maureen who was the cause of the misery.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It was not that she ever complained, but that she looked fagged and lifeless.
Irish writer (born in 1932)
From this reading There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
above and across; more than
From this reading There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
past form of “pervade” — spread or diffuse through
From this reading There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
a keyboard instrument that is played by depressing keys that cause hammers to strike tuned strings and produce sounds
From this reading She locked her piano, the beautiful Blüthner.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It was not that she ever complained, but that she looked fagged and lifeless.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was not that she ever complained, but that she looked fagged and lifeless.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE GRAND BLÜTHNER.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To all appearance, it was Maureen who was the cause of the misery.
experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent
From this reading There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading There was a strange feeling over the old house, a feeling which had never pervaded it even in the unhappy days of the late Mrs. O'Brien.
which person or people
From this reading To all appearance, it was Maureen who was the cause of the misery.
Chapter 11 of The Daughter of a Soldier by L. T. Meade holds 208 sentences, grouped into 42 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 11 holds 208 sentences of The Daughter of a Soldier, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of The Daughter of a Soldier by L. T. Meade exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 208 sentences, grouped into 42 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 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 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 11 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 Daughter of a Soldier by L. T. Meade on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5379 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62734 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62734, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 448 minutes of reading across 1076 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Daughter of a Soldier section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of The Daughter of a Soldier 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 Daughter of a Soldier, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
