Chapter 1 of The King of Diamonds is here in full — 274 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The King of Diamonds is here in full — 274 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A Tale of Mystery and Adventure Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," Etc. "Is there no hope, doctor?" "Absolutely none--now." "If she had gone to the--the workhouse infirmary--would she have lived?" The doctor paused.
Chapter 1 of The King of Diamonds is here in full — 274 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 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.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “"Absolutely none--now."”
take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome
From this reading “A Tale of Mystery and Adventure Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," Etc.”
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading “A Tale of Mystery and Adventure Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," Etc.”
a health facility where patients receive treatment
From this reading “"If she had gone to the--the workhouse infirmary--would she have lived?"”
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
From this reading “A Tale of Mystery and Adventure Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," Etc.”
a fundamental principle or practice
From this reading “A Tale of Mystery and Adventure Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," Etc.”
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “A Tale of Mystery and Adventure Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," Etc.”
a means of flight or ascent
From this reading “A Tale of Mystery and Adventure Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," Etc.”
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.
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 A Tale of Mystery and Adventure Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," Etc.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading "Absolutely none--now."
take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome
From this reading A Tale of Mystery and Adventure Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," Etc.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A Tale of Mystery and Adventure Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," Etc.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading A Tale of Mystery and Adventure Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," Etc.
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading "Is there no hope, doctor?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A Tale of Mystery and Adventure Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," Etc.
destroyed or killed
From this reading "If she had gone to the--the workhouse infirmary--would she have lived?"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "If she had gone to the--the workhouse infirmary--would she have lived?"
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "If she had gone to the--the workhouse infirmary--would she have lived?"
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading "Is there no hope, doctor?"
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "If she had gone to the--the workhouse infirmary--would she have lived?"
a health facility where patients receive treatment
From this reading "If she had gone to the--the workhouse infirmary--would she have lived?"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Is there no hope, doctor?"
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading A Tale of Mystery and Adventure Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," Etc.
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading "If she had gone to the--the workhouse infirmary--would she have lived?"
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading A Tale of Mystery and Adventure Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," Etc.
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
From this reading A Tale of Mystery and Adventure Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," Etc.
not any; not one
From this reading "Is there no hope, doctor?"
not one, and not any
From this reading "Absolutely none--now."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Absolutely none--now."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A Tale of Mystery and Adventure Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," Etc.
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading The doctor paused.
a fundamental principle or practice
From this reading A Tale of Mystery and Adventure Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," Etc.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "If she had gone to the--the workhouse infirmary--would she have lived?"
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading A Tale of Mystery and Adventure Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," Etc.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A Tale of Mystery and Adventure Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," Etc.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "Is there no hope, doctor?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "If she had gone to the--the workhouse infirmary--would she have lived?"
a means of flight or ascent
From this reading A Tale of Mystery and Adventure Author of "The Wings of the Morning," "The Pillar of Light," Etc.
a poorhouse where able-bodied poor are compelled to labor
From this reading "If she had gone to the--the workhouse infirmary--would she have lived?"
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "If she had gone to the--the workhouse infirmary--would she have lived?"
Chapter 1 of The King of Diamonds by Louis Tracy holds 274 sentences, grouped into 55 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 274 sentences of The King of Diamonds, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The King of Diamonds by Louis Tracy exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 274 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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 King of Diamonds by Louis Tracy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6025 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40493 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40493, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 502 minutes of reading across 1205 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The King of Diamonds section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The King of Diamonds 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 King of Diamonds, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
