Chapter 4 of The Husbands of Edith is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Husbands of Edith is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door. With characteristic Far West impulsiveness he banged on the door. A sleepy voice asked who was there. "It's me--Rodney. Get up.
Chapter 4 of The Husbands of Edith is here in full — 411 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.
king of Wessex; defeated the Vikings and encouraged writing in English (849-899)
From this reading “THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.”
past form of “bang” — strike violently
From this reading “With characteristic Far West impulsiveness he banged on the door.”
a brother by marriage
From this reading “THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.”
a prominent attribute or aspect of something
From this reading “With characteristic Far West impulsiveness he banged on the door.”
of a particle or body or system; having a net amount of positive or negative electric charge
From this reading “THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.”
ready to fall asleep
From this reading “A sleepy voice asked who was there.”
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading “THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.”
the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America
From this reading “With characteristic Far West impulsiveness he banged on the door.”
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 WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
king of Wessex; defeated the Vikings and encouraged writing in English (849-899)
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading A sleepy voice asked who was there.
past form of “bang” — strike violently
From this reading With characteristic Far West impulsiveness he banged on the door.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
a brother by marriage
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
a prominent attribute or aspect of something
From this reading With characteristic Far West impulsiveness he banged on the door.
of a particle or body or system; having a net amount of positive or negative electric charge
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading With characteristic Far West impulsiveness he banged on the door.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Get up.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading With characteristic Far West impulsiveness he banged on the door.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
the trait of acting suddenly on impulse without reflection
From this reading With characteristic Far West impulsiveness he banged on the door.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's me--Rodney.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "It's me--Rodney.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
a form of address for a man
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading With characteristic Far West impulsiveness he banged on the door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
ready to fall asleep
From this reading A sleepy voice asked who was there.
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
in or at that place or location
From this reading A sleepy voice asked who was there.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Get up.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading A sleepy voice asked who was there.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A sleepy voice asked who was there.
the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America
From this reading With characteristic Far West impulsiveness he banged on the door.
which person or people
From this reading A sleepy voice asked who was there.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With characteristic Far West impulsiveness he banged on the door.
unfulfilled or frustrated in realizing an ambition
From this reading THE WOULD-BE BROTHER-IN-LAW The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Alfred Rodney, a telegram in his hand, charged down the hall to Mrs. Medcroft's door.
Chapter 4 of The Husbands of Edith by George Barr McCutcheon holds 411 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 4 holds 411 sentences of The Husbands of Edith, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Husbands of Edith by George Barr McCutcheon exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 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 4 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 Husbands of Edith by George Barr McCutcheon on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2696 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #16719 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #16719, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 224 minutes of reading across 540 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Husbands of Edith section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Husbands of Edith 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 Husbands of Edith, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
