Chapter 9 of The Spoils of Poynton 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 IX
Chapter 9 of The Spoils of Poynton is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"At the Registrar's, like a pair of low atheists." The girl hesitated. "What do people say of that? I mean the 'world.'" "Nothing, because nobody knows.
Chapter 9 of The Spoils of Poynton 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.
plural of “atheist” — someone who does not believe in the existence of a god
From this reading “"At the Registrar's, like a pair of low atheists."”
a young female
From this reading “The girl hesitated.”
past form of “hesitate” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading “The girl hesitated.”
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading “"Nothing, because nobody knows.”
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading “"At the Registrar's, like a pair of low atheists."”
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “I mean the 'world.'"”
no person; not anyone
From this reading “"Nothing, because nobody knows.”
a set of two similar things considered as a unit
From this reading “"At the Registrar's, like a pair of low atheists."”
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.
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 "At the Registrar's, like a pair of low atheists."
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "At the Registrar's, like a pair of low atheists."
plural of “atheist” — someone who does not believe in the existence of a god
From this reading "At the Registrar's, like a pair of low atheists."
for the reason that
From this reading "Nothing, because nobody knows.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "What do people say of that?
a young female
From this reading The girl hesitated.
past form of “hesitate” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading The girl hesitated.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I mean the 'world.'"
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading "Nothing, because nobody knows.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "At the Registrar's, like a pair of low atheists."
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading "At the Registrar's, like a pair of low atheists."
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading I mean the 'world.'"
no person; not anyone
From this reading "Nothing, because nobody knows.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading "Nothing, because nobody knows.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "At the Registrar's, like a pair of low atheists."
a set of two similar things considered as a unit
From this reading "At the Registrar's, like a pair of low atheists."
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading "What do people say of that?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "At the Registrar's, like a pair of low atheists."
express in words
From this reading "What do people say of that?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "What do people say of that?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "At the Registrar's, like a pair of low atheists."
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What do people say of that?
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading I mean the 'world.'"
Chapter 9 of The Spoils of Poynton by Henry James 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 9 holds 427 sentences of The Spoils of Poynton, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Spoils of Poynton by Henry James 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 9 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 Spoils of Poynton by Henry James on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3817 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33325 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #33325, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 318 minutes of reading across 764 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Spoils of Poynton section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The Spoils of Poynton 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 Spoils of Poynton, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
