Chapter 31 of The Saracen: Land of the Infidel is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of The Saracen: Land of the Infidel is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Then he thought of Sophia. In an instant a light bloomed within him. Skulking back to Gobignon? No, riding back in triumph, with the most beautiful woman in the world beside him as his bride. He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.
Chapter 31 of The Saracen: Land of the Infidel is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
past form of “bloom” — produce or yield flowers
From this reading “In an instant a light bloomed within him.”
a woman who has recently been married
From this reading “No, riding back in triumph, with the most beautiful woman in the world beside him as his bride.”
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading “He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.”
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading “In an instant a light bloomed within him.”
make a proposal, declare a plan for something
From this reading “He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.”
the sport of sitting on the back of a horse while controlling its movements
From this reading “No, riding back in triumph, with the most beautiful woman in the world beside him as his bride.”
evading duty or work by pretending to be incapacitated
From this reading “Skulking back to Gobignon?”
a successful ending of a struggle or contest
From this reading “No, riding back in triumph, with the most beautiful woman in the world beside him as his bride.”
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 In an instant a light bloomed within him.
anew
From this reading He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading In an instant a light bloomed within him.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading No, riding back in triumph, with the most beautiful woman in the world beside him as his bride.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Skulking back to Gobignon?
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading No, riding back in triumph, with the most beautiful woman in the world beside him as his bride.
next to; at the side of
From this reading No, riding back in triumph, with the most beautiful woman in the world beside him as his bride.
past form of “bloom” — produce or yield flowers
From this reading In an instant a light bloomed within him.
a woman who has recently been married
From this reading No, riding back in triumph, with the most beautiful woman in the world beside him as his bride.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Skulking back to Gobignon?
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then he thought of Sophia.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading In an instant a light bloomed within him.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading No, riding back in triumph, with the most beautiful woman in the world beside him as his bride.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In an instant a light bloomed within him.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading In an instant a light bloomed within him.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading In an instant a light bloomed within him.
used to form the superlative
From this reading No, riding back in triumph, with the most beautiful woman in the world beside him as his bride.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.
not any; not one
From this reading No, riding back in triumph, with the most beautiful woman in the world beside him as his bride.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Then he thought of Sophia.
make a proposal, declare a plan for something
From this reading He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.
the sport of sitting on the back of a horse while controlling its movements
From this reading No, riding back in triumph, with the most beautiful woman in the world beside him as his bride.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.
evading duty or work by pretending to be incapacitated
From this reading Skulking back to Gobignon?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then he thought of Sophia.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading No, riding back in triumph, with the most beautiful woman in the world beside him as his bride.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he thought of Sophia.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Then he thought of Sophia.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Skulking back to Gobignon?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.
a successful ending of a struggle or contest
From this reading No, riding back in triumph, with the most beautiful woman in the world beside him as his bride.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.
in the company of; together with
From this reading No, riding back in triumph, with the most beautiful woman in the world beside him as his bride.
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading In an instant a light bloomed within him.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading No, riding back in triumph, with the most beautiful woman in the world beside him as his bride.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading No, riding back in triumph, with the most beautiful woman in the world beside him as his bride.
but in spite of that
From this reading He had not yet nerved himself to propose to Sophia, but now that they had failed with Fra Tomasso, he could not wait to see her again.
Chapter 31 of The Saracen: Land of the Infidel by Robert Shea holds 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 31 holds 402 sentences of The Saracen: Land of the Infidel, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of The Saracen: Land of the Infidel by Robert Shea exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 31 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 Saracen: Land of the Infidel by Robert Shea on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 14140 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #28515 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #28515, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2828 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Saracen: Land of the Infidel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of The Saracen: Land of the Infidel 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 Saracen: Land of the Infidel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
