Chapter 5 of The Romantic Lady is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Romantic Lady is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Oh, the quarrel! the quarrel was nothing, just a lid to the thing. The trivialest thing for a blaze of temper that I ever saw. But they must have hated each other for years." She put her hands to her ears in mockery. "Oh, dear!
Chapter 5 of The Romantic Lady is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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 strong flame that burns brightly
From this reading “The trivialest thing for a blaze of temper that I ever saw.”
dearly loved
From this reading “"Oh, dear!”
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading “She put her hands to her ears in mockery.”
treated with dislike or contempt
From this reading “But they must have hated each other for years."”
either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye
From this reading “"Oh, the quarrel! the quarrel was nothing, just a lid to the thing.”
showing your contempt by derision
From this reading “She put her hands to her ears in mockery.”
an angry dispute
From this reading “"Oh, the quarrel! the quarrel was nothing, just a lid to the thing.”
a sudden outburst of anger
From this reading “The trivialest thing for a blaze of temper that I ever saw.”
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.
In this reading “But they must have hated each other for years."”
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 "Oh, the quarrel! the quarrel was nothing, just a lid to the thing.
a strong flame that burns brightly
From this reading The trivialest thing for a blaze of temper that I ever saw.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But they must have hated each other for years."
dearly loved
From this reading "Oh, dear!
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading But they must have hated each other for years."
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading She put her hands to her ears in mockery.
at any time
From this reading The trivialest thing for a blaze of temper that I ever saw.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The trivialest thing for a blaze of temper that I ever saw.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading She put her hands to her ears in mockery.
treated with dislike or contempt
From this reading But they must have hated each other for years."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading But they must have hated each other for years."
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She put her hands to her ears in mockery.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading The trivialest thing for a blaze of temper that I ever saw.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She put her hands to her ears in mockery.
and nothing more
From this reading "Oh, the quarrel! the quarrel was nothing, just a lid to the thing.
either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye
From this reading "Oh, the quarrel! the quarrel was nothing, just a lid to the thing.
showing your contempt by derision
From this reading She put her hands to her ears in mockery.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading But they must have hated each other for years."
not one thing; not anything
From this reading "Oh, the quarrel! the quarrel was nothing, just a lid to the thing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The trivialest thing for a blaze of temper that I ever saw.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, the quarrel! the quarrel was nothing, just a lid to the thing.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading But they must have hated each other for years."
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading She put her hands to her ears in mockery.
an angry dispute
From this reading "Oh, the quarrel! the quarrel was nothing, just a lid to the thing.
cut with a saw
From this reading The trivialest thing for a blaze of temper that I ever saw.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She put her hands to her ears in mockery.
a sudden outburst of anger
From this reading The trivialest thing for a blaze of temper that I ever saw.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The trivialest thing for a blaze of temper that I ever saw.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Oh, the quarrel! the quarrel was nothing, just a lid to the thing.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But they must have hated each other for years."
a special situation
From this reading "Oh, the quarrel! the quarrel was nothing, just a lid to the thing.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Oh, the quarrel! the quarrel was nothing, just a lid to the thing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The trivialest thing for a blaze of temper that I ever saw.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Oh, the quarrel! the quarrel was nothing, just a lid to the thing.
a late time of life
From this reading But they must have hated each other for years."
Chapter 5 of The Romantic Lady by Michael Arlen holds 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 5 holds 427 sentences of The Romantic Lady, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Romantic Lady by Michael Arlen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 5 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 Romantic Lady by Michael Arlen on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2562 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46217 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46217, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 213 minutes of reading across 513 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Romantic Lady section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Romantic Lady 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 Romantic Lady, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
