Chapter 12 of The Grand Babylon Hôtel is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Grand Babylon Hôtel is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The narration was a decided ordeal to a man of Racksole’s temperament. ‘A strange story!’ commented Detective Marshall, and he could not avoid a smile. ‘The climax was unfortunate, but you have certainly got some valuable facts.’ Racksole said nothing. ‘I myself have a clue,’ added the detective.
Chapter 12 of The Grand Babylon Hôtel is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/42 · 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.
the highest point of anything conceived of as growing or developing or unfolding
From this reading “‘The climax was unfortunate, but you have certainly got some valuable facts.’”
a slight indication
From this reading “‘I myself have a clue,’ added the detective.”
past form of “comment” — make or write a comment on
From this reading “‘A strange story!’ commented Detective Marshall, and he could not avoid a smile.”
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “‘A strange story!’ commented Detective Marshall, and he could not avoid a smile.”
United States actor (1914-1998)
From this reading “‘A strange story!’ commented Detective Marshall, and he could not avoid a smile.”
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “The narration was a decided ordeal to a man of Racksole’s temperament.”
a severe or trying experience
From this reading “The narration was a decided ordeal to a man of Racksole’s temperament.”
your usual mood
From this reading “The narration was a decided ordeal to a man of Racksole’s temperament.”
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 narration was a decided ordeal to a man of Racksole’s temperament.
past form of “add” — make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading ‘I myself have a clue,’ added the detective.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading ‘A strange story!’ commented Detective Marshall, and he could not avoid a smile.
stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something
From this reading ‘A strange story!’ commented Detective Marshall, and he could not avoid a smile.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading ‘The climax was unfortunate, but you have certainly got some valuable facts.’
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading ‘The climax was unfortunate, but you have certainly got some valuable facts.’
the highest point of anything conceived of as growing or developing or unfolding
From this reading ‘The climax was unfortunate, but you have certainly got some valuable facts.’
a slight indication
From this reading ‘I myself have a clue,’ added the detective.
past form of “comment” — make or write a comment on
From this reading ‘A strange story!’ commented Detective Marshall, and he could not avoid a smile.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading ‘A strange story!’ commented Detective Marshall, and he could not avoid a smile.
recognizable; marked
From this reading The narration was a decided ordeal to a man of Racksole’s temperament.
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading ‘A strange story!’ commented Detective Marshall, and he could not avoid a smile.
plural of “fact” — a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading ‘The climax was unfortunate, but you have certainly got some valuable facts.’
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading ‘The climax was unfortunate, but you have certainly got some valuable facts.’
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading ‘The climax was unfortunate, but you have certainly got some valuable facts.’
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘A strange story!’ commented Detective Marshall, and he could not avoid a smile.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ‘I myself have a clue,’ added the detective.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The narration was a decided ordeal to a man of Racksole’s temperament.
United States actor (1914-1998)
From this reading ‘A strange story!’ commented Detective Marshall, and he could not avoid a smile.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading ‘I myself have a clue,’ added the detective.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading The narration was a decided ordeal to a man of Racksole’s temperament.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading ‘A strange story!’ commented Detective Marshall, and he could not avoid a smile.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Racksole said nothing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The narration was a decided ordeal to a man of Racksole’s temperament.
a severe or trying experience
From this reading The narration was a decided ordeal to a man of Racksole’s temperament.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Racksole said nothing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The narration was a decided ordeal to a man of Racksole’s temperament.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Racksole said nothing.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading ‘A strange story!’ commented Detective Marshall, and he could not avoid a smile.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading ‘The climax was unfortunate, but you have certainly got some valuable facts.’
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading ‘A strange story!’ commented Detective Marshall, and he could not avoid a smile.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading ‘A strange story!’ commented Detective Marshall, and he could not avoid a smile.
your usual mood
From this reading The narration was a decided ordeal to a man of Racksole’s temperament.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The narration was a decided ordeal to a man of Racksole’s temperament.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The narration was a decided ordeal to a man of Racksole’s temperament.
not favored by fortune; marked or accompanied by or resulting in ill fortune
From this reading ‘The climax was unfortunate, but you have certainly got some valuable facts.’
having great material or monetary value especially for use or exchange
From this reading ‘The climax was unfortunate, but you have certainly got some valuable facts.’
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The narration was a decided ordeal to a man of Racksole’s temperament.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ‘The climax was unfortunate, but you have certainly got some valuable facts.’
Chapter 12 of The Grand Babylon Hôtel by Arnold Bennett holds 213 sentences, grouped into 43 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 12 holds 213 sentences of The Grand Babylon Hôtel, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Grand Babylon Hôtel by Arnold Bennett exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 213 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 12 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 Grand Babylon Hôtel by Arnold Bennett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4952 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2813 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2813, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 412 minutes of reading across 991 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Grand Babylon Hôtel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The Grand Babylon Hôtel 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 Grand Babylon Hôtel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
