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.
My hostess turned to me. “John will show you your room. Supper is at half-past seven. We have given up late dinner for some time now. Lady Tadminster, our Member’s wife—she was the late Lord Abbotsbury’s daughter—does the same.
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 46/71 · 5 reading units · Lines 226–230
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.
a female human offspring
From this reading “Lady Tadminster, our Member’s wife—she was the late Lord Abbotsbury’s daughter—does the same.”
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading “We have given up late dinner for some time now.”
a woman host
From this reading “My hostess turned to me.”
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading ““John will show you your room.”
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading “We have given up late dinner for some time now.”
possessive form of “member” — one of the persons who compose a social group (especially individuals who have joined and participate in a group organization)
the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
From this reading “Supper is at half-past seven.”
a light evening meal; served in early evening if dinner is at midday or served late in the evening at bedtime
From this reading “Supper is at half-past seven.”
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 Lady Tadminster, our Member’s wife—she was the late Lord Abbotsbury’s daughter—does the same.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Supper is at half-past seven.
a female human offspring
From this reading Lady Tadminster, our Member’s wife—she was the late Lord Abbotsbury’s daughter—does the same.
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading We have given up late dinner for some time now.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Lady Tadminster, our Member’s wife—she was the late Lord Abbotsbury’s daughter—does the same.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading We have given up late dinner for some time now.
acknowledged as a supposition
From this reading We have given up late dinner for some time now.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Supper is at half-past seven.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading We have given up late dinner for some time now.
a woman host
From this reading My hostess turned to me.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Supper is at half-past seven.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading “John will show you your room.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading Lady Tadminster, our Member’s wife—she was the late Lord Abbotsbury’s daughter—does the same.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading We have given up late dinner for some time now.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading Lady Tadminster, our Member’s wife—she was the late Lord Abbotsbury’s daughter—does the same.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading My hostess turned to me.
possessive form of “member” — one of the persons who compose a social group (especially individuals who have joined and participate in a group organization)
From this reading Lady Tadminster, our Member’s wife—she was the late Lord Abbotsbury’s daughter—does the same.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My hostess turned to me.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading We have given up late dinner for some time now.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Lady Tadminster, our Member’s wife—she was the late Lord Abbotsbury’s daughter—does the same.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading “John will show you your room.
Identical; not different.
From this reading Lady Tadminster, our Member’s wife—she was the late Lord Abbotsbury’s daughter—does the same.
the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
From this reading Supper is at half-past seven.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Lady Tadminster, our Member’s wife—she was the late Lord Abbotsbury’s daughter—does the same.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading “John will show you your room.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading We have given up late dinner for some time now.
a light evening meal; served in early evening if dinner is at midday or served late in the evening at bedtime
From this reading Supper is at half-past seven.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lady Tadminster, our Member’s wife—she was the late Lord Abbotsbury’s daughter—does the same.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Lady Tadminster, our Member’s wife—she was the late Lord Abbotsbury’s daughter—does the same.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading We have given up late dinner for some time now.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading My hostess turned to me.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading My hostess turned to me.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading We have given up late dinner for some time now.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Lady Tadminster, our Member’s wife—she was the late Lord Abbotsbury’s daughter—does the same.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We have given up late dinner for some time now.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading Lady Tadminster, our Member’s wife—she was the late Lord Abbotsbury’s daughter—does the same.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “John will show you your room.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “John will show you your room.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “John will show you your room.
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.
