Chapter 1 of The Thread of Flame is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Thread of Flame is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Author of "THE CITY OF COMRADES" "GOING WEST" "THE INNER SHRINE" ETC. Harper & Brothers _Publishers_ New York and London "Oh, as for cheering people up—I don’t know.... A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .
Chapter 1 of The Thread of Flame is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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 “brother” — a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading “Harper & Brothers _Publishers_ New York and London "Oh, as for cheering people up—I don’t know....”
encouragement in the form of cheers from spectators
From this reading “Harper & Brothers _Publishers_ New York and London "Oh, as for cheering people up—I don’t know....”
plural of “comrade” — a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading “Author of "THE CITY OF COMRADES" "GOING WEST" "THE INNER SHRINE" ETC.”
third-person singular of “discover” — discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
From this reading “A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .”
someone who plays the harp
From this reading “Harper & Brothers _Publishers_ New York and London "Oh, as for cheering people up—I don’t know....”
located inward
From this reading “Author of "THE CITY OF COMRADES" "GOING WEST" "THE INNER SHRINE" ETC.”
plural of “publisher” — a firm in the publishing business
a place of worship hallowed by association with some sacred thing or person
From this reading “Author of "THE CITY OF COMRADES" "GOING WEST" "THE INNER SHRINE" ETC.”
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 “A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .”
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 A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Harper & Brothers _Publishers_ New York and London "Oh, as for cheering people up—I don’t know....
any thing at all
From this reading A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Harper & Brothers _Publishers_ New York and London "Oh, as for cheering people up—I don’t know....
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading Author of "THE CITY OF COMRADES" "GOING WEST" "THE INNER SHRINE" ETC.
plural of “brother” — a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading Harper & Brothers _Publishers_ New York and London "Oh, as for cheering people up—I don’t know....
encouragement in the form of cheers from spectators
From this reading Harper & Brothers _Publishers_ New York and London "Oh, as for cheering people up—I don’t know....
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading Author of "THE CITY OF COMRADES" "GOING WEST" "THE INNER SHRINE" ETC.
plural of “comrade” — a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading Author of "THE CITY OF COMRADES" "GOING WEST" "THE INNER SHRINE" ETC.
third-person singular of “discover” — discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
From this reading A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Harper & Brothers _Publishers_ New York and London "Oh, as for cheering people up—I don’t know....
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Author of "THE CITY OF COMRADES" "GOING WEST" "THE INNER SHRINE" ETC.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Harper & Brothers _Publishers_ New York and London "Oh, as for cheering people up—I don’t know....
the act of departing
From this reading Author of "THE CITY OF COMRADES" "GOING WEST" "THE INNER SHRINE" ETC.
someone who plays the harp
From this reading Harper & Brothers _Publishers_ New York and London "Oh, as for cheering people up—I don’t know....
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Harper & Brothers _Publishers_ New York and London "Oh, as for cheering people up—I don’t know....
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .
located inward
From this reading Author of "THE CITY OF COMRADES" "GOING WEST" "THE INNER SHRINE" ETC.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Harper & Brothers _Publishers_ New York and London "Oh, as for cheering people up—I don’t know....
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading Harper & Brothers _Publishers_ New York and London "Oh, as for cheering people up—I don’t know....
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .
necessary for relief or supply
From this reading A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading Harper & Brothers _Publishers_ New York and London "Oh, as for cheering people up—I don’t know....
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Author of "THE CITY OF COMRADES" "GOING WEST" "THE INNER SHRINE" ETC.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Harper & Brothers _Publishers_ New York and London "Oh, as for cheering people up—I don’t know....
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading Harper & Brothers _Publishers_ New York and London "Oh, as for cheering people up—I don’t know....
plural of “publisher” — a firm in the publishing business
From this reading Harper & Brothers _Publishers_ New York and London "Oh, as for cheering people up—I don’t know....
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .
a place of worship hallowed by association with some sacred thing or person
From this reading Author of "THE CITY OF COMRADES" "GOING WEST" "THE INNER SHRINE" ETC.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Author of "THE CITY OF COMRADES" "GOING WEST" "THE INNER SHRINE" ETC.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Harper & Brothers _Publishers_ New York and London "Oh, as for cheering people up—I don’t know....
plural of “want” — a state of extreme poverty
From this reading A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .
the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America
From this reading Author of "THE CITY OF COMRADES" "GOING WEST" "THE INNER SHRINE" ETC.
at the time that
From this reading A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading A woman wants more than anything else in the world to feel that she’s needed; and when she discovers she isn’t—" .
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading Harper & Brothers _Publishers_ New York and London "Oh, as for cheering people up—I don’t know....
Chapter 1 of The Thread of Flame by Basil King holds 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 408 sentences of The Thread of Flame, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Thread of Flame by Basil King exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Thread of Flame by Basil King on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5316 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45898 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45898, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 443 minutes of reading across 1064 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Thread of Flame section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Thread of Flame 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 Thread of Flame, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
