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.
“‘Darling Alfred’—‘dearest Alfred’—‘wicked calumnies’ —‘wicked lies’—‘wicked woman’—to accuse her ‘dear husband!’ The sooner I left her house the better. So I’m off.” “But not now?” “This minute!”
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 57/71 · 5 reading units · Lines 281–285
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.
bring an accusation against; level a charge against
From this reading ““‘Darling Alfred’—‘dearest Alfred’—‘wicked calumnies’ —‘wicked lies’—‘wicked woman’—to accuse her ‘dear husband!’”
king of Wessex; defeated the Vikings and encouraged writing in English (849-899)
From this reading ““‘Darling Alfred’—‘dearest Alfred’—‘wicked calumnies’ —‘wicked lies’—‘wicked woman’—to accuse her ‘dear husband!’”
a special loved one
From this reading ““‘Darling Alfred’—‘dearest Alfred’—‘wicked calumnies’ —‘wicked lies’—‘wicked woman’—to accuse her ‘dear husband!’”
a beloved person; used as terms of endearment
From this reading ““‘Darling Alfred’—‘dearest Alfred’—‘wicked calumnies’ —‘wicked lies’—‘wicked woman’—to accuse her ‘dear husband!’”
plural of “lie” — a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth
From this reading ““‘Darling Alfred’—‘dearest Alfred’—‘wicked calumnies’ —‘wicked lies’—‘wicked woman’—to accuse her ‘dear husband!’”
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading ““This minute!””
comparatives of “soon” or “early”
From this reading “The sooner I left her house the better.”
morally bad in principle or practice
From this reading ““‘Darling Alfred’—‘dearest Alfred’—‘wicked calumnies’ —‘wicked lies’—‘wicked woman’—to accuse her ‘dear husband!’”
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.
bring an accusation against; level a charge against
From this reading “‘Darling Alfred’—‘dearest Alfred’—‘wicked calumnies’ —‘wicked lies’—‘wicked woman’—to accuse her ‘dear husband!’
king of Wessex; defeated the Vikings and encouraged writing in English (849-899)
From this reading “‘Darling Alfred’—‘dearest Alfred’—‘wicked calumnies’ —‘wicked lies’—‘wicked woman’—to accuse her ‘dear husband!’
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading The sooner I left her house the better.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “But not now?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “‘Darling Alfred’—‘dearest Alfred’—‘wicked calumnies’ —‘wicked lies’—‘wicked woman’—to accuse her ‘dear husband!’
a special loved one
From this reading “‘Darling Alfred’—‘dearest Alfred’—‘wicked calumnies’ —‘wicked lies’—‘wicked woman’—to accuse her ‘dear husband!’
dearly loved
From this reading “‘Darling Alfred’—‘dearest Alfred’—‘wicked calumnies’ —‘wicked lies’—‘wicked woman’—to accuse her ‘dear husband!’
a beloved person; used as terms of endearment
From this reading “‘Darling Alfred’—‘dearest Alfred’—‘wicked calumnies’ —‘wicked lies’—‘wicked woman’—to accuse her ‘dear husband!’
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “‘Darling Alfred’—‘dearest Alfred’—‘wicked calumnies’ —‘wicked lies’—‘wicked woman’—to accuse her ‘dear husband!’
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading The sooner I left her house the better.
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading “‘Darling Alfred’—‘dearest Alfred’—‘wicked calumnies’ —‘wicked lies’—‘wicked woman’—to accuse her ‘dear husband!’
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading The sooner I left her house the better.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading So I’m off.”
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 The sooner I left her house the better.
plural of “lie” — a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth
From this reading “‘Darling Alfred’—‘dearest Alfred’—‘wicked calumnies’ —‘wicked lies’—‘wicked woman’—to accuse her ‘dear husband!’
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading “This minute!”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “But not now?”
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading “But not now?”
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading So I’m off.”
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So I’m off.”
comparatives of “soon” or “early”
From this reading The sooner I left her house the better.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The sooner I left her house the better.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “This minute!”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “‘Darling Alfred’—‘dearest Alfred’—‘wicked calumnies’ —‘wicked lies’—‘wicked woman’—to accuse her ‘dear husband!’
morally bad in principle or practice
From this reading “‘Darling Alfred’—‘dearest Alfred’—‘wicked calumnies’ —‘wicked lies’—‘wicked woman’—to accuse her ‘dear husband!’
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading “‘Darling Alfred’—‘dearest Alfred’—‘wicked calumnies’ —‘wicked lies’—‘wicked woman’—to accuse her ‘dear husband!’
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.
