Chapter 1 of The Key to the Brontë Works is here in full — 36 sentences across 8 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Key to the Brontë Works is here in full — 36 sentences across 8 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE KEY TO THE BRONTË WORKS. THE KEY TO CHARLOTTE BRONTË'S "WUTHERING HEIGHTS," "JANE EYRE," AND HER OTHER WORKS. SHOWING THE METHOD OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION AND THEIR RELATION TO THE FACTS AND PEOPLE OF HER LIFE. BY JOHN MALHAM-DEMBLEBY. London and Felling-on-Tyne: THE WALTER SCOTT PUBLISHING CO., LTD.
Chapter 1 of The Key to the Brontë Works is here in full — 36 sentences across 8 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/7 · 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.
the largest city in North Carolina; located in south central North Carolina
From this reading “THE KEY TO CHARLOTTE BRONTË'S "WUTHERING HEIGHTS," "JANE EYRE," AND HER OTHER WORKS.”
the act of constructing something
From this reading “SHOWING THE METHOD OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION AND THEIR RELATION TO THE FACTS AND PEOPLE OF HER LIFE.”
a shallow salt lake in south central Australia about 35 feet below sea level; the largest lake in the country and the lowest point on the continent
From this reading “THE KEY TO CHARLOTTE BRONTË'S "WUTHERING HEIGHTS," "JANE EYRE," AND HER OTHER WORKS.”
a high place
From this reading “THE KEY TO CHARLOTTE BRONTË'S "WUTHERING HEIGHTS," "JANE EYRE," AND HER OTHER WORKS.”
a way of doing something, especially a systematic way; implies an orderly logical arrangement (usually in steps)
From this reading “SHOWING THE METHOD OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION AND THEIR RELATION TO THE FACTS AND PEOPLE OF HER LIFE.”
the business of issuing printed matter for sale or distribution
From this reading “London and Felling-on-Tyne: THE WALTER SCOTT PUBLISHING CO., LTD.”
an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together
From this reading “SHOWING THE METHOD OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION AND THEIR RELATION TO THE FACTS AND PEOPLE OF HER LIFE.”
award-winning United States film actor (1928-1999)
From this reading “London and Felling-on-Tyne: THE WALTER SCOTT PUBLISHING CO., LTD.”
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 “THE KEY TO CHARLOTTE BRONTË'S "WUTHERING HEIGHTS," "JANE EYRE," AND HER OTHER WORKS.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE KEY TO CHARLOTTE BRONTË'S "WUTHERING HEIGHTS," "JANE EYRE," AND HER OTHER WORKS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE KEY TO THE BRONTË WORKS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE KEY TO CHARLOTTE BRONTË'S "WUTHERING HEIGHTS," "JANE EYRE," AND HER OTHER WORKS.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading BY JOHN MALHAM-DEMBLEBY.
the largest city in North Carolina; located in south central North Carolina
From this reading THE KEY TO CHARLOTTE BRONTË'S "WUTHERING HEIGHTS," "JANE EYRE," AND HER OTHER WORKS.
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading London and Felling-on-Tyne: THE WALTER SCOTT PUBLISHING CO., LTD.
the act of constructing something
From this reading SHOWING THE METHOD OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION AND THEIR RELATION TO THE FACTS AND PEOPLE OF HER LIFE.
a shallow salt lake in south central Australia about 35 feet below sea level; the largest lake in the country and the lowest point on the continent
From this reading THE KEY TO CHARLOTTE BRONTË'S "WUTHERING HEIGHTS," "JANE EYRE," AND HER OTHER WORKS.
plural of “fact” — a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading SHOWING THE METHOD OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION AND THEIR RELATION TO THE FACTS AND PEOPLE OF HER LIFE.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading London and Felling-on-Tyne: THE WALTER SCOTT PUBLISHING CO., LTD.
a high place
From this reading THE KEY TO CHARLOTTE BRONTË'S "WUTHERING HEIGHTS," "JANE EYRE," AND HER OTHER WORKS.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading THE KEY TO CHARLOTTE BRONTË'S "WUTHERING HEIGHTS," "JANE EYRE," AND HER OTHER WORKS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE KEY TO CHARLOTTE BRONTË'S "WUTHERING HEIGHTS," "JANE EYRE," AND HER OTHER WORKS.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading BY JOHN MALHAM-DEMBLEBY.
metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
From this reading THE KEY TO THE BRONTË WORKS.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading SHOWING THE METHOD OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION AND THEIR RELATION TO THE FACTS AND PEOPLE OF HER LIFE.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading London and Felling-on-Tyne: THE WALTER SCOTT PUBLISHING CO., LTD.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading London and Felling-on-Tyne: THE WALTER SCOTT PUBLISHING CO., LTD.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BY JOHN MALHAM-DEMBLEBY.
a way of doing something, especially a systematic way; implies an orderly logical arrangement (usually in steps)
From this reading SHOWING THE METHOD OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION AND THEIR RELATION TO THE FACTS AND PEOPLE OF HER LIFE.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading SHOWING THE METHOD OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION AND THEIR RELATION TO THE FACTS AND PEOPLE OF HER LIFE.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading THE KEY TO CHARLOTTE BRONTË'S "WUTHERING HEIGHTS," "JANE EYRE," AND HER OTHER WORKS.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading SHOWING THE METHOD OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION AND THEIR RELATION TO THE FACTS AND PEOPLE OF HER LIFE.
the business of issuing printed matter for sale or distribution
From this reading London and Felling-on-Tyne: THE WALTER SCOTT PUBLISHING CO., LTD.
an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together
From this reading SHOWING THE METHOD OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION AND THEIR RELATION TO THE FACTS AND PEOPLE OF HER LIFE.
award-winning United States film actor (1928-1999)
From this reading London and Felling-on-Tyne: THE WALTER SCOTT PUBLISHING CO., LTD.
the display of a motion picture
From this reading SHOWING THE METHOD OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION AND THEIR RELATION TO THE FACTS AND PEOPLE OF HER LIFE.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE KEY TO THE BRONTË WORKS.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading SHOWING THE METHOD OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION AND THEIR RELATION TO THE FACTS AND PEOPLE OF HER LIFE.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE KEY TO THE BRONTË WORKS.
German conductor (1876-1962)
From this reading London and Felling-on-Tyne: THE WALTER SCOTT PUBLISHING CO., LTD.
buildings for carrying on industrial labor
From this reading THE KEY TO THE BRONTË WORKS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE KEY TO CHARLOTTE BRONTË'S "WUTHERING HEIGHTS," "JANE EYRE," AND HER OTHER WORKS.
Chapter 1 of The Key to the Brontë Works by John Malham-Dembleby holds 36 sentences, grouped into 8 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 36 sentences of The Key to the Brontë Works, unabridged, divided into 8 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Key to the Brontë Works by John Malham-Dembleby exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 36 sentences, grouped into 8 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 8 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 8 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 Key to the Brontë Works by John Malham-Dembleby on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2790 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40655 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40655, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 232 minutes of reading across 558 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Key to the Brontë Works section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of The Key to the Brontë Works 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 Key to the Brontë Works, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
