Chapter 13 of The Devourers is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of The Devourers is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand. "Will you invite me to lunch?" he said. Yes, Nancy would be very pleased. She thought of the twenty-two francs in her purse; but nothing mattered. They lunched in the dining-room, and he was very silent.
Chapter 13 of The Devourers is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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 “franc” — the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 centimes
From this reading “She thought of the twenty-two francs in her purse; but nothing mattered.”
increase the likelihood of
From this reading “"Will you invite me to lunch?" he said.”
plural of “lily” — any liliaceous plant of the genus Lilium having showy pendulous flowers
From this reading “The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.”
past form of “lunch” — take the midday meal
From this reading “They lunched in the dining-room, and he was very silent.”
past form of “matter” — have weight; have import, carry weight
From this reading “She thought of the twenty-two francs in her purse; but nothing mattered.”
a city in northeastern France in Lorraine
From this reading “Yes, Nancy would be very pleased.”
a container used for carrying money and small personal items or accessories (especially by women)
From this reading “She thought of the twenty-two francs in her purse; but nothing mattered.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of twenty-one and one
From this reading “She thought of the twenty-two francs in her purse; but nothing mattered.”
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 “The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.”
In this reading “The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.”
In this reading “They lunched in the dining-room, and he was very silent.”
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 next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading They lunched in the dining-room, and he was very silent.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Yes, Nancy would be very pleased.
a grouping of a number of similar things
From this reading The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading She thought of the twenty-two francs in her purse; but nothing mattered.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.
a room used for dining
From this reading They lunched in the dining-room, and he was very silent.
being one more than ten
From this reading The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.
plural of “franc” — the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 centimes
From this reading She thought of the twenty-two francs in her purse; but nothing mattered.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She thought of the twenty-two francs in her purse; but nothing mattered.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.
increase the likelihood of
From this reading "Will you invite me to lunch?" he said.
plural of “lily” — any liliaceous plant of the genus Lilium having showy pendulous flowers
From this reading The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.
take the midday meal
From this reading "Will you invite me to lunch?" he said.
past form of “lunch” — take the midday meal
From this reading They lunched in the dining-room, and he was very silent.
past form of “matter” — have weight; have import, carry weight
From this reading She thought of the twenty-two francs in her purse; but nothing mattered.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Will you invite me to lunch?" he said.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.
a city in northeastern France in Lorraine
From this reading Yes, Nancy would be very pleased.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading She thought of the twenty-two francs in her purse; but nothing mattered.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.
experiencing or manifesting pleasure
From this reading Yes, Nancy would be very pleased.
a container used for carrying money and small personal items or accessories (especially by women)
From this reading She thought of the twenty-two francs in her purse; but nothing mattered.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Will you invite me to lunch?" he said.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She thought of the twenty-two francs in her purse; but nothing mattered.
marked by absence of sound
From this reading They lunched in the dining-room, and he was very silent.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They lunched in the dining-room, and he was very silent.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading She thought of the twenty-two francs in her purse; but nothing mattered.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Will you invite me to lunch?" he said.
the cardinal number that is the sum of twenty-one and one
From this reading She thought of the twenty-two francs in her purse; but nothing mattered.
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading The next morning at half-past eleven he came; he had a small bunch of lilies of the valley in his hand.
precisely as stated
From this reading Yes, Nancy would be very pleased.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading They lunched in the dining-room, and he was very silent.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "Will you invite me to lunch?" he said.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Yes, Nancy would be very pleased.
an affirmative
From this reading Yes, Nancy would be very pleased.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Will you invite me to lunch?" he said.
Chapter 13 of The Devourers by Annie Vivanti holds 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 13 holds 412 sentences of The Devourers, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of The Devourers by Annie Vivanti exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 13 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 Devourers by Annie Vivanti on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7003 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39145 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39145, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 583 minutes of reading across 1401 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Devourers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Devourers 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 Devourers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
