Chapter 23 of The Lost Road is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of The Lost Road is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The general turned and embraced the spy. "My children," he said, "welcome your brother. He has come home." Before the car had reached the fortifications, Marie Gessler had arranged her plan of escape. She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.
Chapter 23 of The Lost Road is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
disposed or placed in a particular kind of order
From this reading “Before the car had reached the fortifications, Marie Gessler had arranged her plan of escape.”
an impressive country house (or castle) in France
From this reading “She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.”
well in the past; former
From this reading “She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.”
past form of “embrace” — include in scope; include as part of something broader; have as one's sphere or territory
From this reading “The general turned and embraced the spy.”
plural of “fortification” — defensive structure consisting of walls or mounds built around a stronghold to strengthen it
From this reading “Before the car had reached the fortifications, Marie Gessler had arranged her plan of escape.”
plural of “purchase” — the acquisition of something for payment
From this reading “She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.”
plural of “shop” — a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading “She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.”
catch sight of
From this reading “The general turned and embraced the spy.”
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 She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The general turned and embraced the spy.
disposed or placed in a particular kind of order
From this reading Before the car had reached the fortifications, Marie Gessler had arranged her plan of escape.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Before the car had reached the fortifications, Marie Gessler had arranged her plan of escape.
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading "My children," he said, "welcome your brother.
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading Before the car had reached the fortifications, Marie Gessler had arranged her plan of escape.
an impressive country house (or castle) in France
From this reading She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading "My children," he said, "welcome your brother.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading He has come home."
well in the past; former
From this reading She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.
past form of “embrace” — include in scope; include as part of something broader; have as one's sphere or territory
From this reading The general turned and embraced the spy.
the act of escaping physically
From this reading Before the car had reached the fortifications, Marie Gessler had arranged her plan of escape.
divisible by two
From this reading She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.
plural of “fortification” — defensive structure consisting of walls or mounds built around a stronghold to strengthen it
From this reading Before the car had reached the fortifications, Marie Gessler had arranged her plan of escape.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.
applying to all or most members of a category or group
From this reading The general turned and embraced the spy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Before the car had reached the fortifications, Marie Gessler had arranged her plan of escape.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Before the car had reached the fortifications, Marie Gessler had arranged her plan of escape.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He has come home."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "My children," he said, "welcome your brother.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Before the car had reached the fortifications, Marie Gessler had arranged her plan of escape.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading He has come home."
engage in
From this reading She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Before the car had reached the fortifications, Marie Gessler had arranged her plan of escape.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "My children," he said, "welcome your brother.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Before the car had reached the fortifications, Marie Gessler had arranged her plan of escape.
have the will and intention to carry out some action
From this reading Before the car had reached the fortifications, Marie Gessler had arranged her plan of escape.
plural of “purchase” — the acquisition of something for payment
From this reading She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading Before the car had reached the fortifications, Marie Gessler had arranged her plan of escape.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "My children," he said, "welcome your brother.
express in words
From this reading She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.
plural of “shop” — a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.
catch sight of
From this reading The general turned and embraced the spy.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The general turned and embraced the spy.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading The general turned and embraced the spy.
accept gladly
From this reading "My children," he said, "welcome your brother.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading She had departed from the chateau without even a hand-bag, and she would say that before the shops closed she must make purchases.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "My children," he said, "welcome your brother.
Chapter 23 of The Lost Road by Richard Harding Davis holds 196 sentences, grouped into 40 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 23 holds 196 sentences of The Lost Road, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of The Lost Road by Richard Harding Davis exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 196 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 23 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 Lost Road by Richard Harding Davis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4777 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2283 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2283, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 398 minutes of reading across 956 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Lost Road section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Lost Road 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 Lost Road, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
