Chapter 1 of The Mysterious Affair at Styles is here in full — 355 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Mysterious Affair at Styles is here in full — 355 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
No, she’ll have started from the hospital by now.” “Cynthia! That’s not your wife?” “No, Cynthia is a protégée of my mother’s, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor. He came a cropper, and the girl was left an orphan and penniless.
Chapter 1 of The Mysterious Affair at Styles is here in full — 355 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 15/71 · 5 reading units · Lines 71–75
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.
small farmers and tenants
From this reading “He came a cropper, and the girl was left an orphan and penniless.”
(Greek mythology) the virgin goddess of the hunt and the Moon; daughter of Leto and twin sister of Apollo; identified with Roman Diana
From this reading ““Cynthia!”
the one or ones belonging to her
From this reading ““No, Cynthia is a protégée of my mother’s, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor.”
a health facility where patients receive treatment
From this reading “No, she’ll have started from the hospital by now.””
possessive form of “mother” — a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
a child who has lost both parents
From this reading “He came a cropper, and the girl was left an orphan and penniless.”
not having enough money to pay for necessities
From this reading “He came a cropper, and the girl was left an orphan and penniless.”
a petitioner who solicits contributions or trade or votes
From this reading ““No, Cynthia is a protégée of my mother’s, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor.”
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 “No, Cynthia is a protégée of my mother’s, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “No, Cynthia is a protégée of my mother’s, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He came a cropper, and the girl was left an orphan and penniless.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading No, she’ll have started from the hospital by now.”
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading He came a cropper, and the girl was left an orphan and penniless.
small farmers and tenants
From this reading He came a cropper, and the girl was left an orphan and penniless.
(Greek mythology) the virgin goddess of the hunt and the Moon; daughter of Leto and twin sister of Apollo; identified with Roman Diana
From this reading “Cynthia!
a female human offspring
From this reading “No, Cynthia is a protégée of my mother’s, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading No, she’ll have started from the hospital by now.”
a young female
From this reading He came a cropper, and the girl was left an orphan and penniless.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading No, she’ll have started from the hospital by now.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He came a cropper, and the girl was left an orphan and penniless.
the one or ones belonging to her
From this reading “No, Cynthia is a protégée of my mother’s, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor.
a health facility where patients receive treatment
From this reading No, she’ll have started from the hospital by now.”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “No, Cynthia is a protégée of my mother’s, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading He came a cropper, and the girl was left an orphan and penniless.
joined in matrimony
From this reading “No, Cynthia is a protégée of my mother’s, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor.
possessive form of “mother” — a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading “No, Cynthia is a protégée of my mother’s, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “No, Cynthia is a protégée of my mother’s, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor.
not any; not one
From this reading No, she’ll have started from the hospital by now.”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading That’s not your wife?”
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading No, she’ll have started from the hospital by now.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “No, Cynthia is a protégée of my mother’s, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “No, Cynthia is a protégée of my mother’s, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor.
a child who has lost both parents
From this reading He came a cropper, and the girl was left an orphan and penniless.
not having enough money to pay for necessities
From this reading He came a cropper, and the girl was left an orphan and penniless.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “No, Cynthia is a protégée of my mother’s, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor.
playful in an appealingly bold way
From this reading “No, Cynthia is a protégée of my mother’s, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor.
an acquaintance that you go to school with
From this reading “No, Cynthia is a protégée of my mother’s, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading No, she’ll have started from the hospital by now.”
a petitioner who solicits contributions or trade or votes
From this reading “No, Cynthia is a protégée of my mother’s, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading No, she’ll have started from the hospital by now.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That’s not your wife?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading No, she’ll have started from the hospital by now.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He came a cropper, and the girl was left an orphan and penniless.
which person or people
From this reading “No, Cynthia is a protégée of my mother’s, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading That’s not your wife?”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading That’s not your wife?”
Chapter 1 of The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie holds 355 sentences, grouped into 71 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 355 sentences of The Mysterious Affair at Styles, unabridged, divided into 71 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 355 sentences, grouped into 71 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 71 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 71 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 Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5287 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #863 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #863, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 440 minutes of reading across 1058 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Mysterious Affair at Styles section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Mysterious Affair at Styles 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 Mysterious Affair at Styles, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
