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.
“Mr. Hastings, you’re honest. I can trust you?” I was a little startled. She laid her hand on my arm, and sank her voice to a whisper. “Look after her, Mr. Hastings.
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 59/71 · 5 reading units · Lines 291–295
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 human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading “She laid her hand on my arm, and sank her voice to a whisper.”
United States architect who formed and important architectural firm with John Merven Carrere (1860-1929)
From this reading ““Mr. Hastings, you’re honest.”
not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent
From this reading ““Mr. Hastings, you’re honest.”
set down according to a plan
From this reading “She laid her hand on my arm, and sank her voice to a whisper.”
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading “She laid her hand on my arm, and sank her voice to a whisper.”
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading “I was a little startled.”
something (as property) held by one party (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary)
From this reading “I can trust you?””
speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading “She laid her hand on my arm, and sank her voice to a whisper.”
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 I was a little startled.
later than; following
From this reading “Look after her, Mr. Hastings.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She laid her hand on my arm, and sank her voice to a whisper.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading She laid her hand on my arm, and sank her voice to a whisper.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading I can trust you?”
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading She laid her hand on my arm, and sank her voice to a whisper.
United States architect who formed and important architectural firm with John Merven Carrere (1860-1929)
From this reading “Mr. Hastings, you’re honest.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She laid her hand on my arm, and sank her voice to a whisper.
not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent
From this reading “Mr. Hastings, you’re honest.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I can trust you?”
set down according to a plan
From this reading She laid her hand on my arm, and sank her voice to a whisper.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading I was a little startled.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading “Look after her, Mr. Hastings.
a form of address for a man
From this reading “Mr. Hastings, you’re honest.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading She laid her hand on my arm, and sank her voice to a whisper.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She laid her hand on my arm, and sank her voice to a whisper.
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading She laid her hand on my arm, and sank her voice to a whisper.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She laid her hand on my arm, and sank her voice to a whisper.
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading I was a little startled.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She laid her hand on my arm, and sank her voice to a whisper.
something (as property) held by one party (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary)
From this reading I can trust you?”
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading She laid her hand on my arm, and sank her voice to a whisper.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I was a little startled.
speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading She laid her hand on my arm, and sank her voice to a whisper.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I can trust you?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Mr. Hastings, you’re honest.
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.
