Chapter 21 of The Tangled Skein is here in full — 190 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Tangled Skein is here in full — 190 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CHECK TO THE QUEEN How long they stood thus, heart to heart, they themselves could never have said. The sound of many voices in the near distance roused them from their dream. Ursula started in alarm. "Holy Virgin!" she exclaimed under her breath, "if it should be the Queen!" But Wessex held her tightly, and she struggled in vain.
Chapter 21 of The Tangled Skein is here in full — 190 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading “Ursula started in alarm.”
examine so as to determine accuracy, quality, or condition
From this reading “CHECK TO THE QUEEN How long they stood thus, heart to heart, they themselves could never have said.”
a sacred place of pilgrimage
From this reading “"Holy Virgin!" she exclaimed under her breath, "if it should be the Queen!"”
past form of “rouse” — become active
From this reading “The sound of many voices in the near distance roused them from their dream.”
past form of “struggle” — make a strenuous or labored effort
From this reading “But Wessex held her tightly, and she struggled in vain.”
in a tight or constricted manner
From this reading “But Wessex held her tightly, and she struggled in vain.”
a person who has never had sex
From this reading “"Holy Virgin!" she exclaimed under her breath, "if it should be the Queen!"”
a Saxon kingdom in southwestern England that became the most powerful English kingdom by the 10th century
From this reading “But Wessex held her tightly, and she struggled in vain.”
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 “Ursula started in alarm.”
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.
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading Ursula started in alarm.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading But Wessex held her tightly, and she struggled in vain.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Holy Virgin!" she exclaimed under her breath, "if it should be the Queen!"
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading "Holy Virgin!" she exclaimed under her breath, "if it should be the Queen!"
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But Wessex held her tightly, and she struggled in vain.
examine so as to determine accuracy, quality, or condition
From this reading CHECK TO THE QUEEN How long they stood thus, heart to heart, they themselves could never have said.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading CHECK TO THE QUEEN How long they stood thus, heart to heart, they themselves could never have said.
the property created by the space between two objects or points
From this reading The sound of many voices in the near distance roused them from their dream.
A series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep.
From this reading The sound of many voices in the near distance roused them from their dream.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading "Holy Virgin!" she exclaimed under her breath, "if it should be the Queen!"
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The sound of many voices in the near distance roused them from their dream.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading CHECK TO THE QUEEN How long they stood thus, heart to heart, they themselves could never have said.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading CHECK TO THE QUEEN How long they stood thus, heart to heart, they themselves could never have said.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading But Wessex held her tightly, and she struggled in vain.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "Holy Virgin!" she exclaimed under her breath, "if it should be the Queen!"
a sacred place of pilgrimage
From this reading "Holy Virgin!" she exclaimed under her breath, "if it should be the Queen!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CHECK TO THE QUEEN How long they stood thus, heart to heart, they themselves could never have said.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "Holy Virgin!" she exclaimed under her breath, "if it should be the Queen!"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The sound of many voices in the near distance roused them from their dream.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Holy Virgin!" she exclaimed under her breath, "if it should be the Queen!"
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading CHECK TO THE QUEEN How long they stood thus, heart to heart, they themselves could never have said.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading The sound of many voices in the near distance roused them from their dream.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading The sound of many voices in the near distance roused them from their dream.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading CHECK TO THE QUEEN How long they stood thus, heart to heart, they themselves could never have said.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The sound of many voices in the near distance roused them from their dream.
the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
From this reading CHECK TO THE QUEEN How long they stood thus, heart to heart, they themselves could never have said.
past form of “rouse” — become active
From this reading The sound of many voices in the near distance roused them from their dream.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading CHECK TO THE QUEEN How long they stood thus, heart to heart, they themselves could never have said.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Holy Virgin!" she exclaimed under her breath, "if it should be the Queen!"
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading "Holy Virgin!" she exclaimed under her breath, "if it should be the Queen!"
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading The sound of many voices in the near distance roused them from their dream.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Ursula started in alarm.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading CHECK TO THE QUEEN How long they stood thus, heart to heart, they themselves could never have said.
past form of “struggle” — make a strenuous or labored effort
From this reading But Wessex held her tightly, and she struggled in vain.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading CHECK TO THE QUEEN How long they stood thus, heart to heart, they themselves could never have said.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The sound of many voices in the near distance roused them from their dream.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The sound of many voices in the near distance roused them from their dream.
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading CHECK TO THE QUEEN How long they stood thus, heart to heart, they themselves could never have said.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading CHECK TO THE QUEEN How long they stood thus, heart to heart, they themselves could never have said.
(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result
From this reading CHECK TO THE QUEEN How long they stood thus, heart to heart, they themselves could never have said.
in a tight or constricted manner
From this reading But Wessex held her tightly, and she struggled in vain.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading CHECK TO THE QUEEN How long they stood thus, heart to heart, they themselves could never have said.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading "Holy Virgin!" she exclaimed under her breath, "if it should be the Queen!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ursula started in alarm.
characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
From this reading But Wessex held her tightly, and she struggled in vain.
a person who has never had sex
From this reading "Holy Virgin!" she exclaimed under her breath, "if it should be the Queen!"
plural of “voice” — the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading The sound of many voices in the near distance roused them from their dream.
a Saxon kingdom in southwestern England that became the most powerful English kingdom by the 10th century
From this reading But Wessex held her tightly, and she struggled in vain.
Chapter 21 of The Tangled Skein by Emmuska Orczy, Baroness Orczy holds 190 sentences, grouped into 38 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 21 holds 190 sentences of The Tangled Skein, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The Tangled Skein by Emmuska Orczy, Baroness Orczy exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 190 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 21 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 Tangled Skein by Emmuska Orczy, Baroness Orczy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6135 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37481 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37481, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 511 minutes of reading across 1227 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Tangled Skein section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of The Tangled Skein 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 Tangled Skein, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
