Chapter 2 of The Devil's Disciple is here in full — 457 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Devil's Disciple is here in full — 457 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
JUDITH. That’s a good girl! (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives? ESSIE. No. They wouldn’t have anything to do with him: they were too religious.
Chapter 2 of The Devil's Disciple is here in full — 457 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/91 · 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.
plural of “back” — the posterior part of a human (or animal) body from the neck to the end of the spine
From this reading “(_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?”
plural of “chair” — a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading “(_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?”
a feeling of intense indignation (now used only in the phrase “in high dudgeon”)
From this reading “(_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?”
a servant who is employed to perform domestic task in a household
From this reading “(_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?”
Jewish heroine in one of the books of the Apocrypha; she saved her people by decapitating the Assyrian general Holofernes
From this reading “JUDITH.”
plural of “relative” — a person related by blood or marriage
From this reading “(_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?”
concerned with sacred matters or religion or the church
From this reading “No. They wouldn’t have anything to do with him: they were too religious.”
having intellectual depth
From this reading “(_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?”
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 That’s a good girl!
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
any thing at all
From this reading No. They wouldn’t have anything to do with him: they were too religious.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
plural of “back” — the posterior part of a human (or animal) body from the neck to the end of the spine
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
plural of “chair” — a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
a pair who associate with one another
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
a feeling of intense indignation (now used only in the phrase “in high dudgeon”)
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ESSIE.
possessive form of “father” — a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
a young female
From this reading That’s a good girl!
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading That’s a good girl!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading No. They wouldn’t have anything to do with him: they were too religious.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading No. They wouldn’t have anything to do with him: they were too religious.
a servant who is employed to perform domestic task in a household
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
Jewish heroine in one of the books of the Apocrypha; she saved her people by decapitating the Assyrian general Holofernes
From this reading JUDITH.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
not any; not one
From this reading No. They wouldn’t have anything to do with him: they were too religious.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
plural of “place” — a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
plural of “relative” — a person related by blood or marriage
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
concerned with sacred matters or religion or the church
From this reading No. They wouldn’t have anything to do with him: they were too religious.
a general conscious awareness
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That’s a good girl!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading No. They wouldn’t have anything to do with him: they were too religious.
having intellectual depth
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading No. They wouldn’t have anything to do with him: they were too religious.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading No. They wouldn’t have anything to do with him: they were too religious.
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 places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
in the company of; together with
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading No. They wouldn’t have anything to do with him: they were too religious.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading (_She places a couple of chairs at the table with their backs to the window, with a pleasant sense of being a more thoughtful housekeeper than Mrs. Dudgeon._) Do you know any of your father’s relatives?
Chapter 2 of The Devil's Disciple by Bernard Shaw holds 457 sentences, grouped into 92 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 2 holds 457 sentences of The Devil's Disciple, unabridged, divided into 92 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Devil's Disciple by Bernard Shaw exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 457 sentences, grouped into 92 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 92 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 92 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 2 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 Devil's Disciple by Bernard Shaw on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3173 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3638 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3638, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 264 minutes of reading across 635 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Devil's Disciple section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of The Devil's Disciple 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 Devil's Disciple, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
