Chapter 17 of The Imitator: A Novel is here in full — 189 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Imitator: A Novel is here in full — 189 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Professor Vanlief lost no time in inventing an excuse for his immediate departure. Jeannette would be well looked after. He got a few necessaries together and started for Framley Lodge. After some delay he obtained an interview with the distinguished patient. "Try," urged Vanlief, "to tell me when this illness came upon you.
Chapter 17 of The Imitator: A Novel is here in full — 189 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
cause to be slowed down or delayed
From this reading “After some delay he obtained an interview with the distinguished patient.”
(used of persons) standing above others in character or attainment or reputation
From this reading “After some delay he obtained an interview with the distinguished patient.”
impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism
From this reading “"Try," urged Vanlief, "to tell me when this illness came upon you.”
of the present time and place
From this reading “Professor Vanlief lost no time in inventing an excuse for his immediate departure.”
conduct an interview in television, newspaper, and radio reporting
From this reading “After some delay he obtained an interview with the distinguished patient.”
-ing form of “invent” — come up with (an idea, plan, explanation, theory, or principle) after a mental effort
From this reading “Professor Vanlief lost no time in inventing an excuse for his immediate departure.”
be a lodger; stay temporarily
From this reading “He got a few necessaries together and started for Framley Lodge.”
past form of “urge” — force or impel in an indicated direction
From this reading “"Try," urged Vanlief, "to tell me when this illness came upon you.”
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 “Professor Vanlief lost no time in inventing an excuse for his immediate departure.”
In this reading “After some delay he obtained an interview with the distinguished patient.”
In this reading “Professor Vanlief lost no time in inventing an excuse for his immediate departure.”
keep under careful scrutiny
In this reading “Jeannette would be well looked after.”
find unexpectedly
In this reading “"Try," urged Vanlief, "to tell me when this illness came upon you.”
In this reading “He got a few necessaries together and started for Framley Lodge.”
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 He got a few necessaries together and started for Framley Lodge.
later than; following
From this reading Jeannette would be well looked after.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Professor Vanlief lost no time in inventing an excuse for his immediate departure.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He got a few necessaries together and started for Framley Lodge.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Jeannette would be well looked after.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Try," urged Vanlief, "to tell me when this illness came upon you.
cause to be slowed down or delayed
From this reading After some delay he obtained an interview with the distinguished patient.
the act of departing
From this reading Professor Vanlief lost no time in inventing an excuse for his immediate departure.
(used of persons) standing above others in character or attainment or reputation
From this reading After some delay he obtained an interview with the distinguished patient.
accept an excuse for
From this reading Professor Vanlief lost no time in inventing an excuse for his immediate departure.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading He got a few necessaries together and started for Framley Lodge.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Professor Vanlief lost no time in inventing an excuse for his immediate departure.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He got a few necessaries together and started for Framley Lodge.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading He got a few necessaries together and started for Framley Lodge.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He got a few necessaries together and started for Framley Lodge.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Professor Vanlief lost no time in inventing an excuse for his immediate departure.
impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism
From this reading "Try," urged Vanlief, "to tell me when this illness came upon you.
of the present time and place
From this reading Professor Vanlief lost no time in inventing an excuse for his immediate departure.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Professor Vanlief lost no time in inventing an excuse for his immediate departure.
conduct an interview in television, newspaper, and radio reporting
From this reading After some delay he obtained an interview with the distinguished patient.
-ing form of “invent” — come up with (an idea, plan, explanation, theory, or principle) after a mental effort
From this reading Professor Vanlief lost no time in inventing an excuse for his immediate departure.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jeannette would be well looked after.
be a lodger; stay temporarily
From this reading He got a few necessaries together and started for Framley Lodge.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Jeannette would be well looked after.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading Professor Vanlief lost no time in inventing an excuse for his immediate departure.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Try," urged Vanlief, "to tell me when this illness came upon you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He got a few necessaries together and started for Framley Lodge.
not any; not one
From this reading Professor Vanlief lost no time in inventing an excuse for his immediate departure.
past form of “obtain” — come into possession of
From this reading After some delay he obtained an interview with the distinguished patient.
a person who requires medical care
From this reading After some delay he obtained an interview with the distinguished patient.
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading Professor Vanlief lost no time in inventing an excuse for his immediate departure.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading After some delay he obtained an interview with the distinguished patient.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading He got a few necessaries together and started for Framley Lodge.
express in words
From this reading "Try," urged Vanlief, "to tell me when this illness came upon you.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading After some delay he obtained an interview with the distinguished patient.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "Try," urged Vanlief, "to tell me when this illness came upon you.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Professor Vanlief lost no time in inventing an excuse for his immediate departure.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Try," urged Vanlief, "to tell me when this illness came upon you.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading He got a few necessaries together and started for Framley Lodge.
make an effort or attempt
From this reading "Try," urged Vanlief, "to tell me when this illness came upon you.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading "Try," urged Vanlief, "to tell me when this illness came upon you.
past form of “urge” — force or impel in an indicated direction
From this reading "Try," urged Vanlief, "to tell me when this illness came upon you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Professor Vanlief lost no time in inventing an excuse for his immediate departure.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Jeannette would be well looked after.
at the time that
From this reading "Try," urged Vanlief, "to tell me when this illness came upon you.
in the company of; together with
From this reading After some delay he obtained an interview with the distinguished patient.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Jeannette would be well looked after.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Try," urged Vanlief, "to tell me when this illness came upon you.
Chapter 17 of The Imitator: A Novel by Percival Pollard holds 189 sentences, grouped into 38 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 189 sentences of The Imitator: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Imitator: A Novel by Percival Pollard exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 189 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 Imitator: A Novel by Percival Pollard on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3172 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39724 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39724, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 264 minutes of reading across 635 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Imitator: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Imitator: A Novel 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 Imitator: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
