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.
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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.
In case of a refusal, Lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the second. Then there’s the Duchess—about the school fête.” There was the murmur of a man’s voice, and then Mrs. Inglethorp’s rose in reply: “Yes, certainly. After tea will do quite well.
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 24/71 · 5 reading units · Lines 116–120
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.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading ““Yes, certainly.”
the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right
From this reading “Then there’s the Duchess—about the school fête.””
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech
From this reading “There was the murmur of a man’s voice, and then Mrs. Inglethorp’s rose in reply:”
the act of refusing
From this reading “In case of a refusal, Lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the second.”
a statement (either spoken or written) that is made to reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation
From this reading “There was the murmur of a man’s voice, and then Mrs. Inglethorp’s rose in reply:”
an educational institution
From this reading “Then there’s the Duchess—about the school fête.””
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading “After tea will do quite well.”
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 In case of a refusal, Lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the second.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Then there’s the Duchess—about the school fête.”
later than; following
From this reading After tea will do quite well.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading In case of a refusal, Lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the second.
an occurrence of something
From this reading In case of a refusal, Lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the second.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading “Yes, certainly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In case of a refusal, Lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the second.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading In case of a refusal, Lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the second.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading After tea will do quite well.
the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right
From this reading Then there’s the Duchess—about the school fête.”
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading In case of a refusal, Lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the second.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then there’s the Duchess—about the school fête.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In case of a refusal, Lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the second.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was the murmur of a man’s voice, and then Mrs. Inglethorp’s rose in reply:
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading In case of a refusal, Lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the second.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading In case of a refusal, Lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the second.
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading There was the murmur of a man’s voice, and then Mrs. Inglethorp’s rose in reply:
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading In case of a refusal, Lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the second.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading In case of a refusal, Lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the second.
a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech
From this reading There was the murmur of a man’s voice, and then Mrs. Inglethorp’s rose in reply:
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading In case of a refusal, Lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the second.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading In case of a refusal, Lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the second.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading After tea will do quite well.
the act of refusing
From this reading In case of a refusal, Lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the second.
a statement (either spoken or written) that is made to reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation
From this reading There was the murmur of a man’s voice, and then Mrs. Inglethorp’s rose in reply:
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading There was the murmur of a man’s voice, and then Mrs. Inglethorp’s rose in reply:
an educational institution
From this reading Then there’s the Duchess—about the school fête.”
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading In case of a refusal, Lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the second.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In case of a refusal, Lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the second.
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading After tea will do quite well.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In case of a refusal, Lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the second.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then there’s the Duchess—about the school fête.”
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was the murmur of a man’s voice, and then Mrs. Inglethorp’s rose in reply:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then there’s the Duchess—about the school fête.”
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading There was the murmur of a man’s voice, and then Mrs. Inglethorp’s rose in reply:
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was the murmur of a man’s voice, and then Mrs. Inglethorp’s rose in reply:
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading After tea will do quite well.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading After tea will do quite well.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes, certainly.
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.
