Learn English through classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
The Woman in White
The Woman in White

Chapter XVII · Chapter 17

Chapter 17 of The Woman in White is here in full — 331 sentences across 67 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Woman in White
Context Illustration Reading 1/66 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.
In the light of the hall-lamp Laura looked at me, with white cheeks and startled eyes.
I am half dead with fear,” she said.
Who could it have been?”
We will try to guess to-morrow,” I replied.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Woman in White

Chapter XVII · Chapter 17

Chapter 17 of The Woman in White is here in full — 331 sentences across 67 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/66 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.
Line 2
In the light of the hall-lamp Laura looked at me, with white cheeks and startled eyes.
Line 3
I am half dead with fear,” she said.
Line 4
Who could it have been?”
Line 5
We will try to guess to-morrow,” I replied.

Learner Dictionary

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.

Open verb US /ˈoʊ.pən/

To move from a closed position.

From this reading “We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.”

All words in this reading · 51

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.

am

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I am half dead with fear,” she said.

and

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

another

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

at

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading In the light of the hall-lamp Laura looked at me, with white cheeks and startled eyes.

been

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “Who could it have been?”

between

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

beyond

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

cheeks

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading In the light of the hall-lamp Laura looked at me, with white cheeks and startled eyes.

could

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “Who could it have been?”

crossed

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

dead

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I am half dead with fear,” she said.

eyes

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading In the light of the hall-lamp Laura looked at me, with white cheeks and startled eyes.

fear

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I am half dead with fear,” she said.

from

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

guess

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “We will try to guess to-morrow,” I replied.

half

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I am half dead with fear,” she said.

hall-lamp

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading In the light of the hall-lamp Laura looked at me, with white cheeks and startled eyes.

have

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “Who could it have been?”

house

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

hurried

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

I

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I am half dead with fear,” she said.

In

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading In the light of the hall-lamp Laura looked at me, with white cheeks and startled eyes.

it

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

Laura

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading In the light of the hall-lamp Laura looked at me, with white cheeks and startled eyes.

lawn

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

light

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading In the light of the hall-lamp Laura looked at me, with white cheeks and startled eyes.

looked

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading In the light of the hall-lamp Laura looked at me, with white cheeks and startled eyes.

me

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading In the light of the hall-lamp Laura looked at me, with white cheeks and startled eyes.

of

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading In the light of the hall-lamp Laura looked at me, with white cheeks and startled eyes.

openverbUS /ˈoʊ.pən/

To move from a closed position.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

out

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

passing

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

rapidly

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

reached

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

replied

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “We will try to guess to-morrow,” I replied.

said

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I am half dead with fear,” she said.

she

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I am half dead with fear,” she said.

startled

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading In the light of the hall-lamp Laura looked at me, with white cheeks and startled eyes.

the

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

to

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

to-morrow

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “We will try to guess to-morrow,” I replied.

trees

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

try

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “We will try to guess to-morrow,” I replied.

us

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

We

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

white

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading In the light of the hall-lamp Laura looked at me, with white cheeks and startled eyes.

Who

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “Who could it have been?”

will

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “We will try to guess to-morrow,” I replied.

with

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading In the light of the hall-lamp Laura looked at me, with white cheeks and startled eyes.

without

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

word

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We hurried out from the trees to the open lawn beyond, crossed it rapidly; and without another word passing between us, reached the house.

Chapter 17 of The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins holds 331 sentences, grouped into 67 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.

What does chapter 17 of The Woman in White contain?

Chapter 17 holds 331 sentences of The Woman in White, unabridged, divided into 67 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 17 of The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 331 sentences, grouped into 67 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.

How do I study chapter 17 of The Woman in White?

Work through the 67 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 67 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.

Can chapter 17 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 17 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.

Questions about reading The Woman in White

Common questions about reading The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Woman in White?

Yes. All 13004 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #583 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Woman in White is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #583, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Woman in White take to read?

About 600 minutes of reading across 2601 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Woman in White section by section

How to work through The Woman in White section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Woman in White to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Woman in White

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Woman in White, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Third
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Woman in White; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Epoch
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Woman in White; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Clement
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Woman in White; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Teacher
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Woman in White; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.