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.
For a moment we sat and stared at her. Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains. His wife followed him, murmuring something about persuading Mrs. Inglethorp to think better of it. As she left the room, Miss Howard’s face changed. She leant towards me eagerly.
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 58/71 · 5 reading units · Lines 286–290
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.
use to one's advantage
From this reading “Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains.”
British chemist and physicist who established that water is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen and who calculated the density of the earth (1731-1810)
From this reading “Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains.”
possessive form of “howard” — English actor of stage and screen (1893-1943)
inflected form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading “She leant towards me eagerly.”
a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech
From this reading “His wife followed him, murmuring something about persuading Mrs. Inglethorp to think better of it.”
-ing form of “persuade” — win approval or support for
From this reading “His wife followed him, murmuring something about persuading Mrs. Inglethorp to think better of it.”
plural of “persuasion” — the act of persuading (or attempting to persuade); communication intended to induce belief or action
From this reading “Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains.”
plural of “train” — public transport provided by a line of railway cars coupled together and drawn by a locomotive
From this reading “Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains.”
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 For a moment we sat and stared at her.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading His wife followed him, murmuring something about persuading Mrs. Inglethorp to think better of it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading For a moment we sat and stared at her.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As she left the room, Miss Howard’s face changed.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading For a moment we sat and stared at her.
use to one's advantage
From this reading Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains.
(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 His wife followed him, murmuring something about persuading Mrs. Inglethorp to think better of it.
British chemist and physicist who established that water is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen and who calculated the density of the earth (1731-1810)
From this reading Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains.
made or become different in nature or form
From this reading As she left the room, Miss Howard’s face changed.
with eagerness; in an eager manner
From this reading She leant towards me eagerly.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading As she left the room, Miss Howard’s face changed.
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains.
the act of determining the properties of something, usually by research or calculation
From this reading Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading His wife followed him, murmuring something about persuading Mrs. Inglethorp to think better of it.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For a moment we sat and stared at her.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading For a moment we sat and stared at her.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading His wife followed him, murmuring something about persuading Mrs. Inglethorp to think better of it.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains.
possessive form of “howard” — English actor of stage and screen (1893-1943)
From this reading As she left the room, Miss Howard’s face changed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading His wife followed him, murmuring something about persuading Mrs. Inglethorp to think better of it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading His wife followed him, murmuring something about persuading Mrs. Inglethorp to think better of it.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains.
inflected form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading She leant towards me eagerly.
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 As she left the room, Miss Howard’s face changed.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She leant towards me eagerly.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading As she left the room, Miss Howard’s face changed.
a particular point in time
From this reading For a moment we sat and stared at her.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading His wife followed him, murmuring something about persuading Mrs. Inglethorp to think better of it.
a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech
From this reading His wife followed him, murmuring something about persuading Mrs. Inglethorp to think better of it.
not any; not one
From this reading Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains.
-ing form of “persuade” — win approval or support for
From this reading His wife followed him, murmuring something about persuading Mrs. Inglethorp to think better of it.
plural of “persuasion” — the act of persuading (or attempting to persuade); communication intended to induce belief or action
From this reading Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading As she left the room, Miss Howard’s face changed.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading For a moment we sat and stared at her.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading As she left the room, Miss Howard’s face changed.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading His wife followed him, murmuring something about persuading Mrs. Inglethorp to think better of it.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading For a moment we sat and stared at her.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading His wife followed him, murmuring something about persuading Mrs. Inglethorp to think better of it.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains.
in the direction of
From this reading She leant towards me eagerly.
plural of “train” — public transport provided by a line of railway cars coupled together and drawn by a locomotive
From this reading Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading For a moment we sat and stared at her.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Finally John Cavendish, finding his persuasions of no avail, went off to look up the trains.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading His wife followed him, murmuring something about persuading Mrs. Inglethorp to think better of it.
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.
