Chapter 17 of The Heart of Penelope is here in full — 294 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Heart of Penelope is here in full — 294 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
'O mort, vieux capitaine, il est temps, levons l'ancre. Le pays nous ennuie, O mort, apparaillons.' BAUDELAIRE. 'J'ai vécu: c'est à dire j'ai travaillé, j'ai aimé, j'ai souffert.' _Old French Epitaph._ I The next morning Cecily Wake and her aunt left Monk's Eype.
Chapter 17 of The Heart of Penelope is here in full — 294 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/58 · 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.
fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless
From this reading “'J'ai vécu: c'est à dire j'ai travaillé, j'ai aimé, j'ai souffert.'”
an inscription on a tombstone or monument in memory of the person buried there
From this reading “_Old French Epitaph._ I The next morning Cecily Wake and her aunt left Monk's Eype.”
standard time in the 5th time zone west of Greenwich, reckoned at the 75th meridian; used in the eastern United States
From this reading “'O mort, vieux capitaine, il est temps, levons l'ancre.”
possessive form of “monk” — a male religious living in a cloister and devoting himself to contemplation and prayer and work
From this reading “_Old French Epitaph._ I The next morning Cecily Wake and her aunt left Monk's Eype.”
common sense
From this reading “Le pays nous ennuie, O mort, apparaillons.'”
plural of “pay” — something that remunerates
From this reading “Le pays nous ennuie, O mort, apparaillons.'”
plural of “temp” — a worker (especially in an office) hired on a temporary basis
From this reading “'O mort, vieux capitaine, il est temps, levons l'ancre.”
be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading “_Old French Epitaph._ I The next morning Cecily Wake and her aunt left Monk's Eype.”
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 “'O mort, vieux capitaine, il est temps, levons l'ancre.”
In this reading “_Old French Epitaph._ I The next morning Cecily Wake and her aunt left Monk's Eype.”
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 'J'ai vécu: c'est à dire j'ai travaillé, j'ai aimé, j'ai souffert.'
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _Old French Epitaph._ I The next morning Cecily Wake and her aunt left Monk's Eype.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Le pays nous ennuie, O mort, apparaillons.'
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading _Old French Epitaph._ I The next morning Cecily Wake and her aunt left Monk's Eype.
a French poet noted for macabre imagery and evocative language (1821-1867)
From this reading BAUDELAIRE.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'J'ai vécu: c'est à dire j'ai travaillé, j'ai aimé, j'ai souffert.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'O mort, vieux capitaine, il est temps, levons l'ancre.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Old French Epitaph._ I The next morning Cecily Wake and her aunt left Monk's Eype.
fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless
From this reading 'J'ai vécu: c'est à dire j'ai travaillé, j'ai aimé, j'ai souffert.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Le pays nous ennuie, O mort, apparaillons.'
an inscription on a tombstone or monument in memory of the person buried there
From this reading _Old French Epitaph._ I The next morning Cecily Wake and her aunt left Monk's Eype.
standard time in the 5th time zone west of Greenwich, reckoned at the 75th meridian; used in the eastern United States
From this reading 'O mort, vieux capitaine, il est temps, levons l'ancre.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Old French Epitaph._ I The next morning Cecily Wake and her aunt left Monk's Eype.
the Romance language spoken in France and in countries colonized by France
From this reading _Old French Epitaph._ I The next morning Cecily Wake and her aunt left Monk's Eype.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading _Old French Epitaph._ I The next morning Cecily Wake and her aunt left Monk's Eype.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading _Old French Epitaph._ I The next morning Cecily Wake and her aunt left Monk's Eype.
a midwestern state in north-central United States
From this reading 'O mort, vieux capitaine, il est temps, levons l'ancre.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'J'ai vécu: c'est à dire j'ai travaillé, j'ai aimé, j'ai souffert.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'O mort, vieux capitaine, il est temps, levons l'ancre.
a chronic inflammatory collagen disease affecting connective tissue (skin or joints)
From this reading Le pays nous ennuie, O mort, apparaillons.'
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading _Old French Epitaph._ I The next morning Cecily Wake and her aunt left Monk's Eype.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'O mort, vieux capitaine, il est temps, levons l'ancre.
possessive form of “monk” — a male religious living in a cloister and devoting himself to contemplation and prayer and work
From this reading _Old French Epitaph._ I The next morning Cecily Wake and her aunt left Monk's Eype.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading _Old French Epitaph._ I The next morning Cecily Wake and her aunt left Monk's Eype.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'O mort, vieux capitaine, il est temps, levons l'ancre.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading _Old French Epitaph._ I The next morning Cecily Wake and her aunt left Monk's Eype.
common sense
From this reading Le pays nous ennuie, O mort, apparaillons.'
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading 'O mort, vieux capitaine, il est temps, levons l'ancre.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading _Old French Epitaph._ I The next morning Cecily Wake and her aunt left Monk's Eype.
plural of “pay” — something that remunerates
From this reading Le pays nous ennuie, O mort, apparaillons.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'J'ai vécu: c'est à dire j'ai travaillé, j'ai aimé, j'ai souffert.'
plural of “temp” — a worker (especially in an office) hired on a temporary basis
From this reading 'O mort, vieux capitaine, il est temps, levons l'ancre.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _Old French Epitaph._ I The next morning Cecily Wake and her aunt left Monk's Eype.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'J'ai vécu: c'est à dire j'ai travaillé, j'ai aimé, j'ai souffert.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'O mort, vieux capitaine, il est temps, levons l'ancre.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'J'ai vécu: c'est à dire j'ai travaillé, j'ai aimé, j'ai souffert.'
be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading _Old French Epitaph._ I The next morning Cecily Wake and her aunt left Monk's Eype.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'J'ai vécu: c'est à dire j'ai travaillé, j'ai aimé, j'ai souffert.'
Chapter 17 of The Heart of Penelope by Marie Belloc Lowndes holds 294 sentences, grouped into 59 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 294 sentences of The Heart of Penelope, unabridged, divided into 59 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Heart of Penelope by Marie Belloc Lowndes exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 294 sentences, grouped into 59 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 59 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 59 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 Heart of Penelope by Marie Belloc Lowndes on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3904 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #52055 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #52055, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 325 minutes of reading across 781 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Heart of Penelope section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of The Heart of Penelope 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 Heart of Penelope, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
