Chapter 21 of The long arm of Fantômas is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The long arm of Fantômas is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
JOY CAN KILL “You are good and kind, madam.” “No, no! don’t say that.” “But you are! you are exquisitely good, exquisitely kind.” A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again: “You are mistaken.
Chapter 21 of The long arm of Fantômas is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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.
placed crosswise
From this reading “A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:”
the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right
From this reading “A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:”
in a delicate manner
From this reading ““But you are! you are exquisitely good, exquisitely kind.””
unpleasantly stern
From this reading “A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:”
a woman of refinement
From this reading “JOY CAN KILL “You are good and kind, madam.””
wrong in e.g. opinion or judgment
From this reading ““You are mistaken.”
past form of “protest” — utter words of protest
From this reading “A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:”
a painful and involuntary muscular contraction
From this reading “A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:”
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 “A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:”
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 spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:
anew
From this reading A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading JOY CAN KILL “You are good and kind, madam.”
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading JOY CAN KILL “You are good and kind, madam.”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “But you are! you are exquisitely good, exquisitely kind.”
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading JOY CAN KILL “You are good and kind, madam.”
placed crosswise
From this reading A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “No, no! don’t say that.”
the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right
From this reading A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:
in a delicate manner
From this reading “But you are! you are exquisitely good, exquisitely kind.”
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading JOY CAN KILL “You are good and kind, madam.”
of behavior that is impressive and ambitious in scale or scope
From this reading A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:
unpleasantly stern
From this reading A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:
the emotion of great happiness
From this reading JOY CAN KILL “You are good and kind, madam.”
cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading JOY CAN KILL “You are good and kind, madam.”
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading JOY CAN KILL “You are good and kind, madam.”
a woman of refinement
From this reading JOY CAN KILL “You are good and kind, madam.”
wrong in e.g. opinion or judgment
From this reading “You are mistaken.
not any; not one
From this reading “No, no! don’t say that.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:
a symptom of some physical hurt or disorder
From this reading A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:
past form of “protest” — utter words of protest
From this reading A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:
express in words
From this reading “No, no! don’t say that.”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:
a painful and involuntary muscular contraction
From this reading A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “No, no! don’t say that.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A spasm of pain crossed the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s face, and it was in almost a harsh tone that she protested again:
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading JOY CAN KILL “You are good and kind, madam.”
Chapter 21 of The long arm of Fantômas by Pierre Souvestre holds 164 sentences, grouped into 33 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 21 holds 164 sentences of The long arm of Fantômas, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The long arm of Fantômas by Pierre Souvestre exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 164 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 21 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 long arm of Fantômas by Pierre Souvestre on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5538 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #71587 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #71587, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 461 minutes of reading across 1108 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The long arm of Fantômas section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of The long arm of Fantômas 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 long arm of Fantômas, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
