Chapter 14 of The Real Thing and Other Tales is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of The Real Thing and Other Tales is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Violet Grey stared, laughed, then bade him go in to supper. “_You_ know how she dresses!” He was very well pleased at supper, but he was silent and a little solemn. He said he would go to see Mrs. Alsager the next day. He did so, but he was told at her door that she had returned to Torquay.
Chapter 14 of The Real Thing and Other Tales is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
a Chadic language spoken in northern Nigeria
From this reading “Violet Grey stared, laughed, then bade him go in to supper.”
plural of “dress” — a one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice
From this reading ““_You_ know how she dresses!””
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading “Violet Grey stared, laughed, then bade him go in to supper.”
experiencing or manifesting pleasure
From this reading “He was very well pleased at supper, but he was silent and a little solemn.”
dignified and somber in manner or character and committed to keeping promises
From this reading “He was very well pleased at supper, but he was silent and a little solemn.”
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “Violet Grey stared, laughed, then bade him go in to supper.”
a light evening meal; served in early evening if dinner is at midday or served late in the evening at bedtime
From this reading “Violet Grey stared, laughed, then bade him go in to supper.”
any of numerous low-growing violas with small flowers
From this reading “Violet Grey stared, laughed, then bade him go in to supper.”
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 He was very well pleased at supper, but he was silent and a little solemn.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He said he would go to see Mrs. Alsager the next day.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He was very well pleased at supper, but he was silent and a little solemn.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He was very well pleased at supper, but he was silent and a little solemn.
a Chadic language spoken in northern Nigeria
From this reading Violet Grey stared, laughed, then bade him go in to supper.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He was very well pleased at supper, but he was silent and a little solemn.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading He said he would go to see Mrs. Alsager the next day.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading He did so, but he was told at her door that she had returned to Torquay.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading He did so, but he was told at her door that she had returned to Torquay.
plural of “dress” — a one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice
From this reading “_You_ know how she dresses!”
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Violet Grey stared, laughed, then bade him go in to supper.
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading Violet Grey stared, laughed, then bade him go in to supper.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He did so, but he was told at her door that she had returned to Torquay.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was very well pleased at supper, but he was silent and a little solemn.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He did so, but he was told at her door that she had returned to Torquay.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Violet Grey stared, laughed, then bade him go in to supper.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “_You_ know how she dresses!”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Violet Grey stared, laughed, then bade him go in to supper.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “_You_ know how she dresses!”
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading Violet Grey stared, laughed, then bade him go in to supper.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading He was very well pleased at supper, but he was silent and a little solemn.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading He said he would go to see Mrs. Alsager the next day.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading He said he would go to see Mrs. Alsager the next day.
experiencing or manifesting pleasure
From this reading He was very well pleased at supper, but he was silent and a little solemn.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading He did so, but he was told at her door that she had returned to Torquay.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading He said he would go to see Mrs. Alsager the next day.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading He said he would go to see Mrs. Alsager the next day.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “_You_ know how she dresses!”
marked by absence of sound
From this reading He was very well pleased at supper, but he was silent and a little solemn.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He did so, but he was told at her door that she had returned to Torquay.
dignified and somber in manner or character and committed to keeping promises
From this reading He was very well pleased at supper, but he was silent and a little solemn.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Violet Grey stared, laughed, then bade him go in to supper.
a light evening meal; served in early evening if dinner is at midday or served late in the evening at bedtime
From this reading Violet Grey stared, laughed, then bade him go in to supper.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He did so, but he was told at her door that she had returned to Torquay.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He said he would go to see Mrs. Alsager the next day.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Violet Grey stared, laughed, then bade him go in to supper.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Violet Grey stared, laughed, then bade him go in to supper.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading He did so, but he was told at her door that she had returned to Torquay.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He did so, but he was told at her door that she had returned to Torquay.
precisely as stated
From this reading He was very well pleased at supper, but he was silent and a little solemn.
any of numerous low-growing violas with small flowers
From this reading Violet Grey stared, laughed, then bade him go in to supper.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was very well pleased at supper, but he was silent and a little solemn.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading He was very well pleased at supper, but he was silent and a little solemn.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading He said he would go to see Mrs. Alsager the next day.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “_You_ know how she dresses!”
Chapter 14 of The Real Thing and Other Tales by Henry James holds 165 sentences, grouped into 33 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 14 holds 165 sentences of The Real Thing and Other Tales, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of The Real Thing and Other Tales by Henry James exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 165 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 14 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 Real Thing and Other Tales by Henry James on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3216 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2715 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2715, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 268 minutes of reading across 644 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Real Thing and Other Tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Real Thing and Other Tales 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 Real Thing and Other Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
