Chapter 1 of The River of Darkness is here in full — 50 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The River of Darkness is here in full — 50 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE RIVER OF DARKNESS OR, UNDER AFRICA. THE RIVER OF DARKNESS. PROLOGUE. It was November in London. The great city was buried under a dank, yellow fog.
Chapter 1 of The River of Darkness is here in full — 50 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/10 · 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 second largest continent; located to the south of Europe and bordered to the west by the South Atlantic and to the east by the Indian Ocean
From this reading “THE RIVER OF DARKNESS OR, UNDER AFRICA.”
placed in a grave
From this reading “The great city was buried under a dank, yellow fog.”
unpleasantly cool and humid
From this reading “The great city was buried under a dank, yellow fog.”
absence of light or illumination
From this reading “THE RIVER OF DARKNESS OR, UNDER AFRICA.”
droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
From this reading “The great city was buried under a dank, yellow fog.”
the month following October and preceding December
From this reading “It was November in London.”
an introduction to a play
From this reading “PROLOGUE.”
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
From this reading “The great city was buried under a dank, yellow fog.”
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 The great city was buried under a dank, yellow fog.
the second largest continent; located to the south of Europe and bordered to the west by the South Atlantic and to the east by the Indian Ocean
From this reading THE RIVER OF DARKNESS OR, UNDER AFRICA.
placed in a grave
From this reading The great city was buried under a dank, yellow fog.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading The great city was buried under a dank, yellow fog.
unpleasantly cool and humid
From this reading The great city was buried under a dank, yellow fog.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading THE RIVER OF DARKNESS OR, UNDER AFRICA.
droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
From this reading The great city was buried under a dank, yellow fog.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading The great city was buried under a dank, yellow fog.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was November in London.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was November in London.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading It was November in London.
the month following October and preceding December
From this reading It was November in London.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE RIVER OF DARKNESS OR, UNDER AFRICA.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading THE RIVER OF DARKNESS OR, UNDER AFRICA.
an introduction to a play
From this reading PROLOGUE.
a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading THE RIVER OF DARKNESS OR, UNDER AFRICA.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE RIVER OF DARKNESS OR, UNDER AFRICA.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading THE RIVER OF DARKNESS OR, UNDER AFRICA.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was November in London.
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
From this reading The great city was buried under a dank, yellow fog.
Chapter 1 of The River of Darkness by William Murray Graydon holds 50 sentences, grouped into 10 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 50 sentences of The River of Darkness, unabridged, divided into 10 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The River of Darkness by William Murray Graydon exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 50 sentences, grouped into 10 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 10 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 10 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 River of Darkness by William Murray Graydon on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3841 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24297 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24297, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 320 minutes of reading across 769 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The River of Darkness section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The River of Darkness 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 River of Darkness, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
