Chapter 21 of The Puppet Show of Memory is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Puppet Show of Memory is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city. A revolution had just occurred. The Young Turk party had dethroned the Sultan. The revolution was a military one. When I arrived, the surface life of Constantinople was unchanged.
Chapter 21 of The Puppet Show of Memory is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
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.
the largest city and former capital of Turkey
From this reading “CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.”
past form of “dethrone” — remove a monarch from the throne
From this reading “The Young Turk party had dethroned the Sultan.”
of or relating to the study of the principles of warfare
From this reading “The revolution was a military one.”
a drastic and far-reaching change in ways of thinking and behaving
From this reading “A revolution had just occurred.”
A noble monarch or supreme sovereign ruler of an Islamic country or empire.
From this reading “CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.”
the outer boundary of an artifact or a material layer constituting or resembling such a boundary
From this reading “When I arrived, the surface life of Constantinople was unchanged.”
a native or inhabitant of Turkey
From this reading “The Young Turk party had dethroned the Sultan.”
not made or become different
From this reading “When I arrived, the surface life of Constantinople was unchanged.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
reach a destination, either real or abstract
In this reading “CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.”
In this reading “CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.”
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 CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A revolution had just occurred.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.
past form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.
the largest city and former capital of Turkey
From this reading CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.
past form of “dethrone” — remove a monarch from the throne
From this reading The Young Turk party had dethroned the Sultan.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading A revolution had just occurred.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.
and nothing more
From this reading A revolution had just occurred.
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 CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading When I arrived, the surface life of Constantinople was unchanged.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.
of or relating to the study of the principles of warfare
From this reading The revolution was a military one.
inflected form of “occur” — come to pass
From this reading A revolution had just occurred.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading When I arrived, the surface life of Constantinople was unchanged.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The revolution was a military one.
an organization to gain political power
From this reading The Young Turk party had dethroned the Sultan.
a drastic and far-reaching change in ways of thinking and behaving
From this reading A revolution had just occurred.
Identical; not different.
From this reading CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.
A noble monarch or supreme sovereign ruler of an Islamic country or empire.
From this reading CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.
the outer boundary of an artifact or a material layer constituting or resembling such a boundary
From this reading When I arrived, the surface life of Constantinople was unchanged.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading CONSTANTINOPLE (1909) I arrived at Constantinople in May 1909, on the same day that the Sultan Abdul Hamid left the city.
a native or inhabitant of Turkey
From this reading The Young Turk party had dethroned the Sultan.
not made or become different
From this reading When I arrived, the surface life of Constantinople was unchanged.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The revolution was a military one.
at the time that
From this reading When I arrived, the surface life of Constantinople was unchanged.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading The Young Turk party had dethroned the Sultan.
Chapter 21 of The Puppet Show of Memory by Maurice Baring holds 178 sentences, grouped into 36 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 21 holds 178 sentences of The Puppet Show of Memory, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The Puppet Show of Memory by Maurice Baring exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 178 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 21 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 Puppet Show of Memory by Maurice Baring on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8043 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #57158 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #57158, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1609 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Puppet Show of Memory section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The Puppet Show of Memory 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 Puppet Show of Memory, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
