Chapter 29 of The Wings of Icarus is here in full — 17 sentences across 4 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIX
Chapter 29 of The Wings of Icarus is here in full — 17 sentences across 4 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE THATCHED COTTAGE, February 19th. Gabriel and I are sitting in the study; we have your letter before us. These few lines are to thank you, if we can, for your most precious words. Now nothing fails us. Your most loving, grateful, EMILIA FLETCHER.
Chapter 29 of The Wings of Icarus is here in full — 17 sentences across 4 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/3 · 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 small house with a single story
From this reading “THE THATCHED COTTAGE, February 19th.”
tropical African herbs
From this reading “Your most loving, grateful, EMILIA FLETCHER.”
third-person singular of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading “Now nothing fails us.”
the month following January and preceding March
From this reading “THE THATCHED COTTAGE, February 19th.”
prolific English dramatist who collaborated with Francis Beaumont and many other dramatists (1579-1625)
From this reading “Your most loving, grateful, EMILIA FLETCHER.”
(Bible) the archangel who was the messenger of God
From this reading “Gabriel and I are sitting in the study; we have your letter before us.”
feeling or showing gratitude
From this reading “Your most loving, grateful, EMILIA FLETCHER.”
past form of “thatch” — cover with thatch
From this reading “THE THATCHED COTTAGE, February 19th.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE THATCHED COTTAGE, February 19th.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Gabriel and I are sitting in the study; we have your letter before us.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Gabriel and I are sitting in the study; we have your letter before us.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Gabriel and I are sitting in the study; we have your letter before us.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading These few lines are to thank you, if we can, for your most precious words.
a small house with a single story
From this reading THE THATCHED COTTAGE, February 19th.
tropical African herbs
From this reading Your most loving, grateful, EMILIA FLETCHER.
third-person singular of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading Now nothing fails us.
the month following January and preceding March
From this reading THE THATCHED COTTAGE, February 19th.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading These few lines are to thank you, if we can, for your most precious words.
prolific English dramatist who collaborated with Francis Beaumont and many other dramatists (1579-1625)
From this reading Your most loving, grateful, EMILIA FLETCHER.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading These few lines are to thank you, if we can, for your most precious words.
(Bible) the archangel who was the messenger of God
From this reading Gabriel and I are sitting in the study; we have your letter before us.
feeling or showing gratitude
From this reading Your most loving, grateful, EMILIA FLETCHER.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Gabriel and I are sitting in the study; we have your letter before us.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Gabriel and I are sitting in the study; we have your letter before us.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading These few lines are to thank you, if we can, for your most precious words.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Gabriel and I are sitting in the study; we have your letter before us.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading Gabriel and I are sitting in the study; we have your letter before us.
plural of “line” — a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading These few lines are to thank you, if we can, for your most precious words.
feeling or showing love and affection
From this reading Your most loving, grateful, EMILIA FLETCHER.
used to form the superlative
From this reading These few lines are to thank you, if we can, for your most precious words.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Now nothing fails us.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now nothing fails us.
characterized by feeling or showing fond affection for
From this reading These few lines are to thank you, if we can, for your most precious words.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading Gabriel and I are sitting in the study; we have your letter before us.
a detailed critical inspection
From this reading Gabriel and I are sitting in the study; we have your letter before us.
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading These few lines are to thank you, if we can, for your most precious words.
past form of “thatch” — cover with thatch
From this reading THE THATCHED COTTAGE, February 19th.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE THATCHED COTTAGE, February 19th.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading These few lines are to thank you, if we can, for your most precious words.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading These few lines are to thank you, if we can, for your most precious words.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Gabriel and I are sitting in the study; we have your letter before us.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Gabriel and I are sitting in the study; we have your letter before us.
the words that are spoken
From this reading These few lines are to thank you, if we can, for your most precious words.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading These few lines are to thank you, if we can, for your most precious words.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Gabriel and I are sitting in the study; we have your letter before us.
Chapter 29 of The Wings of Icarus by Laurence Alma-Tadema holds 17 sentences, grouped into 4 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 29 holds 17 sentences of The Wings of Icarus, unabridged, divided into 4 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 29 of The Wings of Icarus by Laurence Alma-Tadema exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 17 sentences, grouped into 4 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 4 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 4 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 29 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 Wings of Icarus by Laurence Alma-Tadema on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2158 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17255 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17255, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 179 minutes of reading across 432 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Wings of Icarus section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of The Wings of Icarus 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 Wings of Icarus, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
