Chapter 1 of The wisdom of Father Brown is here in full — 171 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The wisdom of Father Brown is here in full — 171 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
1. The Absence of Mr Glass 2. The Paradise of Thieves 3. The Duel of Dr Hirsch 4. The Man in the Passage 5.
Chapter 1 of The wisdom of Father Brown is here in full — 171 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
the state of being absent
From this reading “The Absence of Mr Glass 2.”
a prearranged fight with deadly weapons by two people (accompanied by seconds) in order to settle a quarrel over a point of honor
From this reading “The Duel of Dr Hirsch 4.”
a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading “The Absence of Mr Glass 2.”
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “The Man in the Passage 5.”
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading “The Paradise of Thieves 3.”
the act of passing from one state or place to the next
From this reading “The Man in the Passage 5.”
plural of “thief” — a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
From this reading “The Paradise of Thieves 3.”
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 1.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Absence of Mr Glass 2.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Paradise of Thieves 3.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Duel of Dr Hirsch 4.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Man in the Passage 5.
the state of being absent
From this reading The Absence of Mr Glass 2.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Duel of Dr Hirsch 4.
a prearranged fight with deadly weapons by two people (accompanied by seconds) in order to settle a quarrel over a point of honor
From this reading The Duel of Dr Hirsch 4.
a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading The Absence of Mr Glass 2.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Duel of Dr Hirsch 4.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The Man in the Passage 5.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The Man in the Passage 5.
a form of address for a man
From this reading The Absence of Mr Glass 2.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Absence of Mr Glass 2.
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading The Paradise of Thieves 3.
the act of passing from one state or place to the next
From this reading The Man in the Passage 5.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Absence of Mr Glass 2.
plural of “thief” — a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
From this reading The Paradise of Thieves 3.
Chapter 1 of The wisdom of Father Brown by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton holds 171 sentences, grouped into 35 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 171 sentences of The wisdom of Father Brown, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The wisdom of Father Brown by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 171 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 wisdom of Father Brown by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3580 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #223 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #223, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 298 minutes of reading across 716 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The wisdom of Father Brown section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The wisdom of Father Brown 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 wisdom of Father Brown, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
