Chapter 3 of The Mayor of Casterbridge is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Mayor of Casterbridge is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“What is his exact kin to us, mother? I have never clearly had it told me.” “He is, or was—for he may be dead—a connection by marriage,” said her mother deliberately. “That’s exactly what you have said a score of times before!” replied the young woman, looking about her inattentively. “He’s not a near relation, I suppose?”
Chapter 3 of The Mayor of Casterbridge is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
Strictly particular and correct.
From this reading ““What is his exact kin to us, mother?”
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 is, or was—for he may be dead—a connection by marriage,” said her mother deliberately.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s exactly what you have said a score of times before!” replied the young woman, looking about her inattentively.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He is, or was—for he may be dead—a connection by marriage,” said her mother deliberately.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s exactly what you have said a score of times before!” replied the young woman, looking about her inattentively.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He is, or was—for he may be dead—a connection by marriage,” said her mother deliberately.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have never clearly had it told me.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He is, or was—for he may be dead—a connection by marriage,” said her mother deliberately.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He is, or was—for he may be dead—a connection by marriage,” said her mother deliberately.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He is, or was—for he may be dead—a connection by marriage,” said her mother deliberately.
Strictly particular and correct.
From this reading “What is his exact kin to us, mother?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s exactly what you have said a score of times before!” replied the young woman, looking about her inattentively.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He is, or was—for he may be dead—a connection by marriage,” said her mother deliberately.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have never clearly had it told me.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have never clearly had it told me.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He is, or was—for he may be dead—a connection by marriage,” said her mother deliberately.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He’s not a near relation, I suppose?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He is, or was—for he may be dead—a connection by marriage,” said her mother deliberately.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What is his exact kin to us, mother?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have never clearly had it told me.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s exactly what you have said a score of times before!” replied the young woman, looking about her inattentively.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What is his exact kin to us, mother?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have never clearly had it told me.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What is his exact kin to us, mother?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s exactly what you have said a score of times before!” replied the young woman, looking about her inattentively.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He is, or was—for he may be dead—a connection by marriage,” said her mother deliberately.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He is, or was—for he may be dead—a connection by marriage,” said her mother deliberately.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have never clearly had it told me.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What is his exact kin to us, mother?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He’s not a near relation, I suppose?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have never clearly had it told me.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He’s not a near relation, I suppose?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s exactly what you have said a score of times before!” replied the young woman, looking about her inattentively.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He is, or was—for he may be dead—a connection by marriage,” said her mother deliberately.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He’s not a near relation, I suppose?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s exactly what you have said a score of times before!” replied the young woman, looking about her inattentively.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He is, or was—for he may be dead—a connection by marriage,” said her mother deliberately.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s exactly what you have said a score of times before!” replied the young woman, looking about her inattentively.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He’s not a near relation, I suppose?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s exactly what you have said a score of times before!” replied the young woman, looking about her inattentively.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s exactly what you have said a score of times before!” replied the young woman, looking about her inattentively.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s exactly what you have said a score of times before!” replied the young woman, looking about her inattentively.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What is his exact kin to us, mother?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have never clearly had it told me.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What is his exact kin to us, mother?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He is, or was—for he may be dead—a connection by marriage,” said her mother deliberately.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What is his exact kin to us, mother?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s exactly what you have said a score of times before!” replied the young woman, looking about her inattentively.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s exactly what you have said a score of times before!” replied the young woman, looking about her inattentively.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s exactly what you have said a score of times before!” replied the young woman, looking about her inattentively.
Chapter 3 of The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy holds 180 sentences, grouped into 36 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 3 holds 180 sentences of The Mayor of Casterbridge, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 180 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 3 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 Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6288 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #143 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #143, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 524 minutes of reading across 1258 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Mayor of Casterbridge section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of The Mayor of Casterbridge 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 Mayor of Casterbridge, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
