Chapter 9 of The Gem Collector is here in full — 105 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Gem Collector is here in full — 105 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins. Lady Blunt sat almost opposite to him. Her dress was of unrelieved black, and formed a wonderfully effective foil to the gems. It was not a rope of pearls. It was a collar.
Chapter 9 of The Gem Collector is here in full — 105 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/21 · 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.
having a broad or rounded end
From this reading “Lady Blunt sat almost opposite to him.”
producing or capable of producing an intended result or having a striking effect
From this reading “Her dress was of unrelieved black, and formed a wonderfully effective foil to the gems.”
enhance by contrast
From this reading “Her dress was of unrelieved black, and formed a wonderfully effective foil to the gems.”
plural of “gem” — art highly prized for its beauty or perfection
From this reading “Her dress was of unrelieved black, and formed a wonderfully effective foil to the gems.”
travelling about without any clear destination
From this reading “It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.”
a transient variation in voltage or current
From this reading “It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.”
emotionally aroused
From this reading “It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.”
not lessened or diminished
From this reading “Her dress was of unrelieved black, and formed a wonderfully effective foil to the gems.”
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 Her dress was of unrelieved black, and formed a wonderfully effective foil to the gems.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading Lady Blunt sat almost opposite to him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Her dress was of unrelieved black, and formed a wonderfully effective foil to the gems.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading Her dress was of unrelieved black, and formed a wonderfully effective foil to the gems.
having a broad or rounded end
From this reading Lady Blunt sat almost opposite to him.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
a band that fits around the neck and is usually folded over
From this reading It was a collar.
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
put on clothes
From this reading Her dress was of unrelieved black, and formed a wonderfully effective foil to the gems.
producing or capable of producing an intended result or having a striking effect
From this reading Her dress was of unrelieved black, and formed a wonderfully effective foil to the gems.
something many people believe that is false
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
enhance by contrast
From this reading Her dress was of unrelieved black, and formed a wonderfully effective foil to the gems.
having or given a form or shape
From this reading Her dress was of unrelieved black, and formed a wonderfully effective foil to the gems.
plural of “gem” — art highly prized for its beauty or perfection
From this reading Her dress was of unrelieved black, and formed a wonderfully effective foil to the gems.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her dress was of unrelieved black, and formed a wonderfully effective foil to the gems.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Lady Blunt sat almost opposite to him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading Lady Blunt sat almost opposite to him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It was not a rope of pearls.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
being directly across from each other; facing
From this reading Lady Blunt sat almost opposite to him.
plural of “pearl” — a smooth lustrous round structure inside the shell of a clam or oyster; much valued as a jewel
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
a strong line
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
travelling about without any clear destination
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Lady Blunt sat almost opposite to him.
perception by means of the eyes
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
a transient variation in voltage or current
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
emotionally aroused
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Lady Blunt sat almost opposite to him.
not lessened or diminished
From this reading Her dress was of unrelieved black, and formed a wonderfully effective foil to the gems.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading It was at dinner that Jimmy had his first chance of seeing the rope of pearls which had so stimulated the roving fancy of Spike Mullins.
(used as an intensifier) extremely well
From this reading Her dress was of unrelieved black, and formed a wonderfully effective foil to the gems.
Chapter 9 of The Gem Collector by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse holds 105 sentences, grouped into 21 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 9 holds 105 sentences of The Gem Collector, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Gem Collector by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 105 sentences, grouped into 21 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 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 21 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 9 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 Gem Collector by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3136 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8931 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8931, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 261 minutes of reading across 628 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Gem Collector section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Gem Collector 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 Gem Collector, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
