Chapter 38 of The Evil Genius: A Domestic Story is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVIII
Chapter 38 of The Evil Genius: A Domestic Story is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Captain Bennydeck met Catherine and her child at the open door of the room. Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her. It told her nothing. But Catherine saw a change in him. There was something in his manner unnaturally passive and subdued.
Chapter 38 of The Evil Genius: A Domestic Story is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
possessive form of “captain” — an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
first wife of Henry VIII; Henry VIII's divorce from her was the initial step of the Reformation in England (1485-1536)
From this reading “Captain Bennydeck met Catherine and her child at the open door of the room.”
having or showing keen interest or intense desire or impatient expectancy
From this reading “Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.”
plural of “pace” — the rate of moving (especially walking or running)
From this reading “Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.”
lacking in energy or will
From this reading “There was something in his manner unnaturally passive and subdued.”
fastener consisting of a narrow strip of welded metal used to join steel members
From this reading “Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.”
in a softened tone
From this reading “There was something in his manner unnaturally passive and subdued.”
in an unnatural way
From this reading “There was something in his manner unnaturally passive and subdued.”
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 Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Captain Bennydeck met Catherine and her child at the open door of the room.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Captain Bennydeck met Catherine and her child at the open door of the room.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Captain Bennydeck met Catherine and her child at the open door of the room.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But Catherine saw a change in him.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading Captain Bennydeck met Catherine and her child at the open door of the room.
possessive form of “captain” — an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.
first wife of Henry VIII; Henry VIII's divorce from her was the initial step of the Reformation in England (1485-1536)
From this reading Captain Bennydeck met Catherine and her child at the open door of the room.
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading But Catherine saw a change in him.
a young person of either sex
From this reading Captain Bennydeck met Catherine and her child at the open door of the room.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Captain Bennydeck met Catherine and her child at the open door of the room.
having or showing keen interest or intense desire or impatient expectancy
From this reading Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Captain Bennydeck met Catherine and her child at the open door of the room.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading But Catherine saw a change in him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading There was something in his manner unnaturally passive and subdued.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It told her nothing.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading There was something in his manner unnaturally passive and subdued.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading Captain Bennydeck met Catherine and her child at the open door of the room.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading It told her nothing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Captain Bennydeck met Catherine and her child at the open door of the room.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading Captain Bennydeck met Catherine and her child at the open door of the room.
plural of “pace” — the rate of moving (especially walking or running)
From this reading Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.
the act of passing from one state or place to the next
From this reading Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.
lacking in energy or will
From this reading There was something in his manner unnaturally passive and subdued.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Captain Bennydeck met Catherine and her child at the open door of the room.
cut with a saw
From this reading But Catherine saw a change in him.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading There was something in his manner unnaturally passive and subdued.
fastener consisting of a narrow strip of welded metal used to join steel members
From this reading Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.
in a softened tone
From this reading There was something in his manner unnaturally passive and subdued.
express in words
From this reading Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Captain Bennydeck met Catherine and her child at the open door of the room.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was something in his manner unnaturally passive and subdued.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading It told her nothing.
in an unnatural way
From this reading There was something in his manner unnaturally passive and subdued.
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was something in his manner unnaturally passive and subdued.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Mrs. Presty, stopping a few paces behind them, waited in the passage; eager to see what the Captain’s face might tell her.
Chapter 38 of The Evil Genius: A Domestic Story by Wilkie Collins holds 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 38 holds 148 sentences of The Evil Genius: A Domestic Story, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 38 of The Evil Genius: A Domestic Story by Wilkie Collins exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 38 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 Evil Genius: A Domestic Story by Wilkie Collins on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6769 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1627 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1627, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 564 minutes of reading across 1354 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Evil Genius: A Domestic Story section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Evil Genius: A Domestic Story 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 Evil Genius: A Domestic Story, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
