Chapter 23 of We Can't Have Everything: A Novel is here in full — 292 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of We Can't Have Everything: A Novel is here in full — 292 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Kedzie was paralyzed. Mrs. Thropp was inspired. Unity of purpose guided her true. She had told her daughter to ignore Gilfoyle as an unimportant detail. She certainly did not intend to substitute a couple of crude parents as a new handicap.
Chapter 23 of We Can't Have Everything: A Novel is here in full — 292 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/58 · 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.
not carefully or expertly made
From this reading “She certainly did not intend to substitute a couple of crude parents as a new handicap.”
subject to guidance or control especially after launching
From this reading “Unity of purpose guided her true.”
the condition of being unable to perform as a consequence of physical or mental unfitness
From this reading “She certainly did not intend to substitute a couple of crude parents as a new handicap.”
refuse to acknowledge
From this reading “She had told her daughter to ignore Gilfoyle as an unimportant detail.”
affected with paralysis
From this reading “Kedzie was paralyzed.”
put in the place of another; switch seemingly equivalent items
From this reading “She certainly did not intend to substitute a couple of crude parents as a new handicap.”
not important
From this reading “She had told her daughter to ignore Gilfoyle as an unimportant detail.”
an undivided or unbroken completeness or totality with nothing wanting
From this reading “Unity of purpose guided her true.”
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 She certainly did not intend to substitute a couple of crude parents as a new handicap.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading She had told her daughter to ignore Gilfoyle as an unimportant detail.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She had told her daughter to ignore Gilfoyle as an unimportant detail.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading She certainly did not intend to substitute a couple of crude parents as a new handicap.
a pair who associate with one another
From this reading She certainly did not intend to substitute a couple of crude parents as a new handicap.
not carefully or expertly made
From this reading She certainly did not intend to substitute a couple of crude parents as a new handicap.
a female human offspring
From this reading She had told her daughter to ignore Gilfoyle as an unimportant detail.
an isolated fact that is considered separately from the whole
From this reading She had told her daughter to ignore Gilfoyle as an unimportant detail.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading She certainly did not intend to substitute a couple of crude parents as a new handicap.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She had told her daughter to ignore Gilfoyle as an unimportant detail.
subject to guidance or control especially after launching
From this reading Unity of purpose guided her true.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had told her daughter to ignore Gilfoyle as an unimportant detail.
the condition of being unable to perform as a consequence of physical or mental unfitness
From this reading She certainly did not intend to substitute a couple of crude parents as a new handicap.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Unity of purpose guided her true.
refuse to acknowledge
From this reading She had told her daughter to ignore Gilfoyle as an unimportant detail.
being of such surpassing excellence as to suggest inspiration by the gods
From this reading Mrs. Thropp was inspired.
have in mind as a purpose
From this reading She certainly did not intend to substitute a couple of crude parents as a new handicap.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kedzie was paralyzed.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Thropp was inspired.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading She certainly did not intend to substitute a couple of crude parents as a new handicap.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She certainly did not intend to substitute a couple of crude parents as a new handicap.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Unity of purpose guided her true.
affected with paralysis
From this reading Kedzie was paralyzed.
plural of “parent” — a father or mother; one who begets or one who gives birth to or nurtures and raises a child; a relative who plays the role of guardian
From this reading She certainly did not intend to substitute a couple of crude parents as a new handicap.
an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
From this reading Unity of purpose guided her true.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had told her daughter to ignore Gilfoyle as an unimportant detail.
put in the place of another; switch seemingly equivalent items
From this reading She certainly did not intend to substitute a couple of crude parents as a new handicap.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Thropp was inspired.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She had told her daughter to ignore Gilfoyle as an unimportant detail.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading She had told her daughter to ignore Gilfoyle as an unimportant detail.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading Unity of purpose guided her true.
not important
From this reading She had told her daughter to ignore Gilfoyle as an unimportant detail.
an undivided or unbroken completeness or totality with nothing wanting
From this reading Unity of purpose guided her true.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Kedzie was paralyzed.
Chapter 23 of We Can't Have Everything: A Novel by Rupert Hughes holds 292 sentences, grouped into 59 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 23 holds 292 sentences of We Can't Have Everything: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 59 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of We Can't Have Everything: A Novel by Rupert Hughes exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 292 sentences, grouped into 59 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 59 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 59 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 23 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 We Can't Have Everything: A Novel by Rupert Hughes on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 13105 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7077 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7077, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2621 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through We Can't Have Everything: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of We Can't Have Everything: A Novel 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 We Can't Have Everything: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
