Chapter 12 of The Joss: A Reversion is here in full — 218 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Joss: A Reversion is here in full — 218 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE SHUTTING OF A DOOR. We went upstairs to get another candle. A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper. The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents. Pieces of candle were left, but not one whole one.
Chapter 12 of The Joss: A Reversion is here in full — 218 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
stick of wax with a wick in the middle
From this reading “We went upstairs to get another candle.”
reception room in an inn or club where visitors can be received
From this reading “A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.”
hit hard with the hand, fist, or some heavy instrument
From this reading “A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.”
plural of “rat” — any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse
From this reading “The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.”
A flat horizontal plane used to hold books or scrolls in a library.
From this reading “The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.”
plural of “shred” — a tiny or scarcely detectable amount
From this reading “The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.”
the act of closing something
From this reading “THE SHUTTING OF A DOOR.”
covered with or as if with clothes or a wrap or cloak
From this reading “A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.”
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 “We went upstairs to get another candle.”
In this reading “A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.”
go upward with gradual or continuous progress
In this reading “The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.”
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 SHUTTING OF A DOOR.
Having no one else present.
From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading We went upstairs to get another candle.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Pieces of candle were left, but not one whole one.
stick of wax with a wick in the middle
From this reading We went upstairs to get another candle.
past form of “climb” — go upward with gradual or continuous progress
From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.
(usually plural) everything that is included in a collection and that is held or included in something
From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading THE SHUTTING OF A DOOR.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading We went upstairs to get another candle.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.
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 A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.
shelf that projects from wall above fireplace
From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.
the food served and eaten at one time
From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Pieces of candle were left, but not one whole one.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE SHUTTING OF A DOOR.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Pieces of candle were left, but not one whole one.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.
reception room in an inn or club where visitors can be received
From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.
plural of “piece” — a separate part of a whole
From this reading Pieces of candle were left, but not one whole one.
hit hard with the hand, fist, or some heavy instrument
From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.
plural of “rat” — any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse
From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.
A flat horizontal plane used to hold books or scrolls in a library.
From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.
plural of “shred” — a tiny or scarcely detectable amount
From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.
the act of closing something
From this reading THE SHUTTING OF A DOOR.
dependable
From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE SHUTTING OF A DOOR.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We went upstairs to get another candle.
having edges that are jagged from injury
From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.
on a floor above
From this reading We went upstairs to get another candle.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We went upstairs to get another candle.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading We went upstairs to get another candle.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Pieces of candle were left, but not one whole one.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading Pieces of candle were left, but not one whole one.
covered with or as if with clothes or a wrap or cloak
From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.
Chapter 12 of The Joss: A Reversion by Richard Marsh holds 218 sentences, grouped into 44 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 12 holds 218 sentences of The Joss: A Reversion, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Joss: A Reversion by Richard Marsh exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 218 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 Joss: A Reversion by Richard Marsh on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7589 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #64997 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #64997, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1518 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Joss: A Reversion section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of The Joss: A Reversion 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 Joss: A Reversion, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
