Chapter 17 of The Devourers is here in full — 47 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Devourers is here in full — 47 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I Anne-Marie stirred, sighed, and awoke. The room was dim and silent. But soon a gentle, rhythmical sound fell on her ears, and pleased her. It was a soft, regular sound, like the ticking of a clock, like the beating of a heart--it was the rocking of a cradle. Anne-Marie smiled to herself, and her soul sank into peacefulness.
Chapter 17 of The Devourers is here in full — 47 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/9 · 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.
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading “I Anne-Marie stirred, sighed, and awoke.”
the act of overcoming or outdoing
From this reading “It was a soft, regular sound, like the ticking of a clock, like the beating of a heart--it was the rocking of a cradle.”
a timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading “It was a soft, regular sound, like the ticking of a clock, like the beating of a heart--it was the rocking of a cradle.”
a baby bed with sides and rockers
From this reading “It was a soft, regular sound, like the ticking of a clock, like the beating of a heart--it was the rocking of a cradle.”
a state that is calm and tranquil
From this reading “Anne-Marie smiled to herself, and her soul sank into peacefulness.”
-ing form of “rock” — move back and forth or sideways
From this reading “It was a soft, regular sound, like the ticking of a clock, like the beating of a heart--it was the rocking of a cradle.”
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading “I Anne-Marie stirred, sighed, and awoke.”
a metallic tapping sound
From this reading “It was a soft, regular sound, like the ticking of a clock, like the beating of a heart--it was the rocking of a cradle.”
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 “Anne-Marie smiled to herself, and her soul sank into peacefulness.”
In this reading “But soon a gentle, rhythmical sound fell on her ears, and pleased her.”
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 But soon a gentle, rhythmical sound fell on her ears, and pleased her.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I Anne-Marie stirred, sighed, and awoke.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I Anne-Marie stirred, sighed, and awoke.
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading I Anne-Marie stirred, sighed, and awoke.
the act of overcoming or outdoing
From this reading It was a soft, regular sound, like the ticking of a clock, like the beating of a heart--it was the rocking of a cradle.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But soon a gentle, rhythmical sound fell on her ears, and pleased her.
a timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading It was a soft, regular sound, like the ticking of a clock, like the beating of a heart--it was the rocking of a cradle.
a baby bed with sides and rockers
From this reading It was a soft, regular sound, like the ticking of a clock, like the beating of a heart--it was the rocking of a cradle.
lacking in light; not bright or harsh
From this reading The room was dim and silent.
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading But soon a gentle, rhythmical sound fell on her ears, and pleased her.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading But soon a gentle, rhythmical sound fell on her ears, and pleased her.
soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
From this reading But soon a gentle, rhythmical sound fell on her ears, and pleased her.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading It was a soft, regular sound, like the ticking of a clock, like the beating of a heart--it was the rocking of a cradle.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading But soon a gentle, rhythmical sound fell on her ears, and pleased her.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading Anne-Marie smiled to herself, and her soul sank into peacefulness.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I Anne-Marie stirred, sighed, and awoke.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Anne-Marie smiled to herself, and her soul sank into peacefulness.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a soft, regular sound, like the ticking of a clock, like the beating of a heart--it was the rocking of a cradle.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading It was a soft, regular sound, like the ticking of a clock, like the beating of a heart--it was the rocking of a cradle.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was a soft, regular sound, like the ticking of a clock, like the beating of a heart--it was the rocking of a cradle.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading But soon a gentle, rhythmical sound fell on her ears, and pleased her.
a state that is calm and tranquil
From this reading Anne-Marie smiled to herself, and her soul sank into peacefulness.
experiencing or manifesting pleasure
From this reading But soon a gentle, rhythmical sound fell on her ears, and pleased her.
in accordance with fixed order or procedure or principle
From this reading It was a soft, regular sound, like the ticking of a clock, like the beating of a heart--it was the rocking of a cradle.
recurring with measured regularity
From this reading But soon a gentle, rhythmical sound fell on her ears, and pleased her.
-ing form of “rock” — move back and forth or sideways
From this reading It was a soft, regular sound, like the ticking of a clock, like the beating of a heart--it was the rocking of a cradle.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading The room was dim and silent.
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading Anne-Marie smiled to herself, and her soul sank into peacefulness.
past form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading I Anne-Marie stirred, sighed, and awoke.
marked by absence of sound
From this reading The room was dim and silent.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading Anne-Marie smiled to herself, and her soul sank into peacefulness.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading It was a soft, regular sound, like the ticking of a clock, like the beating of a heart--it was the rocking of a cradle.
in the near future
From this reading But soon a gentle, rhythmical sound fell on her ears, and pleased her.
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading Anne-Marie smiled to herself, and her soul sank into peacefulness.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading But soon a gentle, rhythmical sound fell on her ears, and pleased her.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading I Anne-Marie stirred, sighed, and awoke.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The room was dim and silent.
a metallic tapping sound
From this reading It was a soft, regular sound, like the ticking of a clock, like the beating of a heart--it was the rocking of a cradle.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Anne-Marie smiled to herself, and her soul sank into peacefulness.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The room was dim and silent.
Chapter 17 of The Devourers by Annie Vivanti holds 47 sentences, grouped into 10 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 47 sentences of The Devourers, unabridged, divided into 10 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Devourers by Annie Vivanti exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 47 sentences, grouped into 10 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 10 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 10 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 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.
