Chapter 9 of The Life of James McNeill Whistler is here in full — 567 sentences across 114 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Life of James McNeill Whistler is here in full — 567 sentences across 114 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SEVENTY-FOUR. While Whistler was painting the Nocturnes, he was working on the large portraits. The _Mother_ was the first. We cannot say when he began it. He wrote of it to Fantin, promising to send a photograph, in 1871, but it was not shown until 1872.
Chapter 9 of The Life of James McNeill Whistler is here in full — 567 sentences across 114 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/113 · 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.
graphic art consisting of an artistic composition made by applying paints to a surface
From this reading “While Whistler was painting the Nocturnes, he was working on the large portraits.”
record on photographic film
From this reading “He wrote of it to Fantin, promising to send a photograph, in 1871, but it was not shown until 1872.”
plural of “portrait” — a word picture of a person's appearance and character
From this reading “While Whistler was painting the Nocturnes, he was working on the large portraits.”
showing possibility of achievement or excellence
From this reading “He wrote of it to Fantin, promising to send a photograph, in 1871, but it was not shown until 1872.”
inflected form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading “He wrote of it to Fantin, promising to send a photograph, in 1871, but it was not shown until 1872.”
United States painter (1834-1903)
From this reading “While Whistler was painting the Nocturnes, he was working on the large portraits.”
actively engaged in paid work
From this reading “While Whistler was painting the Nocturnes, he was working on the large portraits.”
inflected form of “write” — produce a literary work
From this reading “He wrote of it to Fantin, promising to send a photograph, in 1871, but it was not shown until 1872.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He wrote of it to Fantin, promising to send a photograph, in 1871, but it was not shown until 1872.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He wrote of it to Fantin, promising to send a photograph, in 1871, but it was not shown until 1872.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading He wrote of it to Fantin, promising to send a photograph, in 1871, but it was not shown until 1872.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading We cannot say when he began it.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He wrote of it to Fantin, promising to send a photograph, in 1871, but it was not shown until 1872.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We cannot say when he began it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He wrote of it to Fantin, promising to send a photograph, in 1871, but it was not shown until 1872.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading The _Mother_ was the first.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading While Whistler was painting the Nocturnes, he was working on the large portraits.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He wrote of it to Fantin, promising to send a photograph, in 1871, but it was not shown until 1872.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading We cannot say when he began it.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading While Whistler was painting the Nocturnes, he was working on the large portraits.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading The _Mother_ was the first.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading While Whistler was painting the Nocturnes, he was working on the large portraits.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He wrote of it to Fantin, promising to send a photograph, in 1871, but it was not shown until 1872.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He wrote of it to Fantin, promising to send a photograph, in 1871, but it was not shown until 1872.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading While Whistler was painting the Nocturnes, he was working on the large portraits.
graphic art consisting of an artistic composition made by applying paints to a surface
From this reading While Whistler was painting the Nocturnes, he was working on the large portraits.
record on photographic film
From this reading He wrote of it to Fantin, promising to send a photograph, in 1871, but it was not shown until 1872.
plural of “portrait” — a word picture of a person's appearance and character
From this reading While Whistler was painting the Nocturnes, he was working on the large portraits.
showing possibility of achievement or excellence
From this reading He wrote of it to Fantin, promising to send a photograph, in 1871, but it was not shown until 1872.
express in words
From this reading We cannot say when he began it.
cause to go somewhere
From this reading He wrote of it to Fantin, promising to send a photograph, in 1871, but it was not shown until 1872.
being four more than seventy
From this reading SEVENTY-FOUR.
inflected form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading He wrote of it to Fantin, promising to send a photograph, in 1871, but it was not shown until 1872.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading While Whistler was painting the Nocturnes, he was working on the large portraits.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He wrote of it to Fantin, promising to send a photograph, in 1871, but it was not shown until 1872.
up to a particular time
From this reading He wrote of it to Fantin, promising to send a photograph, in 1871, but it was not shown until 1872.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading While Whistler was painting the Nocturnes, he was working on the large portraits.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We cannot say when he began it.
at the time that
From this reading We cannot say when he began it.
during the time that
From this reading While Whistler was painting the Nocturnes, he was working on the large portraits.
United States painter (1834-1903)
From this reading While Whistler was painting the Nocturnes, he was working on the large portraits.
actively engaged in paid work
From this reading While Whistler was painting the Nocturnes, he was working on the large portraits.
inflected form of “write” — produce a literary work
From this reading He wrote of it to Fantin, promising to send a photograph, in 1871, but it was not shown until 1872.
Chapter 9 of The Life of James McNeill Whistler by Elizabeth Robins Pennell holds 567 sentences, grouped into 114 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 9 holds 567 sentences of The Life of James McNeill Whistler, unabridged, divided into 114 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Life of James McNeill Whistler by Elizabeth Robins Pennell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 567 sentences, grouped into 114 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 114 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 114 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 9 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 Life of James McNeill Whistler by Elizabeth Robins Pennell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8629 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47363 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47363, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1726 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Life of James McNeill Whistler section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Life of James McNeill Whistler 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 Life of James McNeill Whistler, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
