Chapter 1 of The Grey Woman and other Tales is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Grey Woman and other Tales is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE GREY WOMAN. AND OTHER TALES. AUTHOR OF “MARY BARTON,” “NORTH AND SOUTH,” “SYLVIA’S LOVERS,” “COUSIN PHILLIS,” “CRANFORD,” ETC. ILLUSTRATED EDITION. LONDON: SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 65, CORNHILL.
Chapter 1 of The Grey Woman and other Tales is here in full — 414 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.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading “AUTHOR OF “MARY BARTON,” “NORTH AND SOUTH,” “SYLVIA’S LOVERS,” “COUSIN PHILLIS,” “CRANFORD,” ETC.”
the form in which a text (especially a printed book) is published
From this reading “ILLUSTRATED EDITION.”
a person who is older than you are
From this reading “LONDON: SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 65, CORNHILL.”
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading “THE GREY WOMAN.”
past form of “illustrate” — clarify by giving an example of
From this reading “ILLUSTRATED EDITION.”
plural of “lover” — a person who loves someone or is loved by someone
From this reading “AUTHOR OF “MARY BARTON,” “NORTH AND SOUTH,” “SYLVIA’S LOVERS,” “COUSIN PHILLIS,” “CRANFORD,” ETC.”
Rhodesian statesman who declared independence of Zimbabwe from Great Britain (born in 1919)
From this reading “LONDON: SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 65, CORNHILL.”
plural of “tale” — 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 “AND OTHER TALES.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LONDON: SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 65, CORNHILL.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading AND OTHER TALES.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading AUTHOR OF “MARY BARTON,” “NORTH AND SOUTH,” “SYLVIA’S LOVERS,” “COUSIN PHILLIS,” “CRANFORD,” ETC.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF “MARY BARTON,” “NORTH AND SOUTH,” “SYLVIA’S LOVERS,” “COUSIN PHILLIS,” “CRANFORD,” ETC.
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading LONDON: SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 65, CORNHILL.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LONDON: SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 65, CORNHILL.
the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading AUTHOR OF “MARY BARTON,” “NORTH AND SOUTH,” “SYLVIA’S LOVERS,” “COUSIN PHILLIS,” “CRANFORD,” ETC.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF “MARY BARTON,” “NORTH AND SOUTH,” “SYLVIA’S LOVERS,” “COUSIN PHILLIS,” “CRANFORD,” ETC.
the form in which a text (especially a printed book) is published
From this reading ILLUSTRATED EDITION.
a person who is older than you are
From this reading LONDON: SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 65, CORNHILL.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF “MARY BARTON,” “NORTH AND SOUTH,” “SYLVIA’S LOVERS,” “COUSIN PHILLIS,” “CRANFORD,” ETC.
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading THE GREY WOMAN.
past form of “illustrate” — clarify by giving an example of
From this reading ILLUSTRATED EDITION.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading LONDON: SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 65, CORNHILL.
plural of “lover” — a person who loves someone or is loved by someone
From this reading AUTHOR OF “MARY BARTON,” “NORTH AND SOUTH,” “SYLVIA’S LOVERS,” “COUSIN PHILLIS,” “CRANFORD,” ETC.
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading AUTHOR OF “MARY BARTON,” “NORTH AND SOUTH,” “SYLVIA’S LOVERS,” “COUSIN PHILLIS,” “CRANFORD,” ETC.
the region of the United States lying to the north of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading AUTHOR OF “MARY BARTON,” “NORTH AND SOUTH,” “SYLVIA’S LOVERS,” “COUSIN PHILLIS,” “CRANFORD,” ETC.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AUTHOR OF “MARY BARTON,” “NORTH AND SOUTH,” “SYLVIA’S LOVERS,” “COUSIN PHILLIS,” “CRANFORD,” ETC.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading AND OTHER TALES.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF “MARY BARTON,” “NORTH AND SOUTH,” “SYLVIA’S LOVERS,” “COUSIN PHILLIS,” “CRANFORD,” ETC.
Rhodesian statesman who declared independence of Zimbabwe from Great Britain (born in 1919)
From this reading LONDON: SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 65, CORNHILL.
the region of the United States lying to the south of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading AUTHOR OF “MARY BARTON,” “NORTH AND SOUTH,” “SYLVIA’S LOVERS,” “COUSIN PHILLIS,” “CRANFORD,” ETC.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF “MARY BARTON,” “NORTH AND SOUTH,” “SYLVIA’S LOVERS,” “COUSIN PHILLIS,” “CRANFORD,” ETC.
plural of “tale” — 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 AND OTHER TALES.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE GREY WOMAN.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading THE GREY WOMAN.
Chapter 1 of The Grey Woman and other Tales by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell holds 414 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 1 holds 414 sentences of The Grey Woman and other Tales, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Grey Woman and other Tales by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 414 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 1 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 Grey Woman and other Tales by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3229 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #28636 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #28636, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 269 minutes of reading across 646 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Grey Woman and other Tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Grey Woman and other Tales 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 Grey Woman and other Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
