Chapter 1 of The Maugham Obsession is here in full — 326 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Maugham Obsession is here in full — 326 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
All inventors seek success. Some few achieve it. And now and then a Quintus Maugham is a bit too successful for his own health. _What is a Derleth? The question pops up frequently in fantasy circles.
Chapter 1 of The Maugham Obsession is here in full — 326 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/65 · 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.
to gain with effort
From this reading “Some few achieve it.”
plural of “circle” — ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point
From this reading “The question pops up frequently in fantasy circles.”
imagination unrestricted by reality
From this reading “The question pops up frequently in fantasy circles.”
many times at short intervals
From this reading “The question pops up frequently in fantasy circles.”
plural of “inventor” — someone who is the first to think of or make something
From this reading “All inventors seek success.”
plural of “pop” — an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading “The question pops up frequently in fantasy circles.”
try to get or reach
From this reading “All inventors seek success.”
having succeeded or being marked by a favorable outcome
From this reading “And now and then a Quintus Maugham is a bit too successful for his own health.”
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.
appear suddenly or unexpectedly
In this reading “The question pops up frequently in fantasy circles.”
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 And now and then a Quintus Maugham is a bit too successful for his own health.
to gain with effort
From this reading Some few achieve it.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading All inventors seek success.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And now and then a Quintus Maugham is a bit too successful for his own health.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading And now and then a Quintus Maugham is a bit too successful for his own health.
plural of “circle” — ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point
From this reading The question pops up frequently in fantasy circles.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _What is a Derleth?
imagination unrestricted by reality
From this reading The question pops up frequently in fantasy circles.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Some few achieve it.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading And now and then a Quintus Maugham is a bit too successful for his own health.
many times at short intervals
From this reading The question pops up frequently in fantasy circles.
a healthy state of wellbeing free from disease
From this reading And now and then a Quintus Maugham is a bit too successful for his own health.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading And now and then a Quintus Maugham is a bit too successful for his own health.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The question pops up frequently in fantasy circles.
plural of “inventor” — someone who is the first to think of or make something
From this reading All inventors seek success.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading And now and then a Quintus Maugham is a bit too successful for his own health.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Some few achieve it.
English writer (born in France) of novels and short stories (1874-1965)
From this reading And now and then a Quintus Maugham is a bit too successful for his own health.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading And now and then a Quintus Maugham is a bit too successful for his own health.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading And now and then a Quintus Maugham is a bit too successful for his own health.
plural of “pop” — an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading The question pops up frequently in fantasy circles.
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading The question pops up frequently in fantasy circles.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And now and then a Quintus Maugham is a bit too successful for his own health.
try to get or reach
From this reading All inventors seek success.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Some few achieve it.
an event that accomplishes its intended purpose
From this reading All inventors seek success.
having succeeded or being marked by a favorable outcome
From this reading And now and then a Quintus Maugham is a bit too successful for his own health.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The question pops up frequently in fantasy circles.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading And now and then a Quintus Maugham is a bit too successful for his own health.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading And now and then a Quintus Maugham is a bit too successful for his own health.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The question pops up frequently in fantasy circles.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading _What is a Derleth?
Chapter 1 of The Maugham Obsession by August Derleth holds 326 sentences, grouped into 66 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 326 sentences of The Maugham Obsession, unabridged, divided into 66 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Maugham Obsession by August Derleth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 326 sentences, grouped into 66 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 66 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 66 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 Maugham Obsession by August Derleth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Maugham Obsession section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Maugham Obsession 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 Maugham Obsession, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
