Chapter 16 of Willing to Die: A Novel is here in full — 261 sentences across 53 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Willing to Die: A Novel is here in full — 261 sentences across 53 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WHAT CAN SHE MEAN? We had promised to go and see Lady Lorrimer again next day at the same hour. My head was still full of her. Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her. "Why doesn't she stay at home, and go out?" he repeated, smiling faintly as he did so.
Chapter 16 of Willing to Die: A Novel is here in full — 261 sentences across 53 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/52 · 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.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading “Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.”
to a faint degree or weakly perceived
From this reading “"Why doesn't she stay at home, and go out?" he repeated, smiling faintly as he did so.”
discontinued temporarily
From this reading “Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.”
informal terms for a mother
From this reading “Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.”
a daily or weekly publication on folded sheets; contains news and articles and advertisements
From this reading “Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.”
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading “Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.”
past form of “promise” — make a promise or commitment
From this reading “We had promised to go and see Lady Lorrimer again next day at the same hour.”
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading “Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.”
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 “We had promised to go and see Lady Lorrimer again next day at the same hour.”
a reception held in your own home
In this reading “"Why doesn't she stay at home, and go out?" he repeated, smiling faintly as he did so.”
move out of or depart from
In this reading “"Why doesn't she stay at home, and go out?" he repeated, smiling faintly as he did so.”
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
In this reading “Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.”
reside temporarily
In this reading “"Why doesn't she stay at home, and go out?" he repeated, smiling faintly as he did so.”
In this reading “We had promised to go and see Lady Lorrimer again next day at the same hour.”
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.
anew
From this reading We had promised to go and see Lady Lorrimer again next day at the same hour.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading We had promised to go and see Lady Lorrimer again next day at the same hour.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading We had promised to go and see Lady Lorrimer again next day at the same hour.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading WHAT CAN SHE MEAN?
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading We had promised to go and see Lady Lorrimer again next day at the same hour.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Why doesn't she stay at home, and go out?" he repeated, smiling faintly as he did so.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.
to a faint degree or weakly perceived
From this reading "Why doesn't she stay at home, and go out?" he repeated, smiling faintly as he did so.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading My head was still full of her.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading We had promised to go and see Lady Lorrimer again next day at the same hour.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading We had promised to go and see Lady Lorrimer again next day at the same hour.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Why doesn't she stay at home, and go out?" he repeated, smiling faintly as he did so.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading My head was still full of her.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading My head was still full of her.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading "Why doesn't she stay at home, and go out?" he repeated, smiling faintly as he did so.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading We had promised to go and see Lady Lorrimer again next day at the same hour.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.
discontinued temporarily
From this reading Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading We had promised to go and see Lady Lorrimer again next day at the same hour.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We had promised to go and see Lady Lorrimer again next day at the same hour.
informal terms for a mother
From this reading Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading WHAT CAN SHE MEAN?
to a great degree or extent
From this reading Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My head was still full of her.
a daily or weekly publication on folded sheets; contains news and articles and advertisements
From this reading Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading We had promised to go and see Lady Lorrimer again next day at the same hour.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading My head was still full of her.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "Why doesn't she stay at home, and go out?" he repeated, smiling faintly as he did so.
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.
past form of “promise” — make a promise or commitment
From this reading We had promised to go and see Lady Lorrimer again next day at the same hour.
recurring again and again
From this reading "Why doesn't she stay at home, and go out?" he repeated, smiling faintly as he did so.
Identical; not different.
From this reading We had promised to go and see Lady Lorrimer again next day at the same hour.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading We had promised to go and see Lady Lorrimer again next day at the same hour.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading WHAT CAN SHE MEAN?
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading "Why doesn't she stay at home, and go out?" he repeated, smiling faintly as he did so.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading "Why doesn't she stay at home, and go out?" he repeated, smiling faintly as he did so.
not in physical motion
From this reading My head was still full of her.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading We had promised to go and see Lady Lorrimer again next day at the same hour.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We had promised to go and see Lady Lorrimer again next day at the same hour.
precisely as stated
From this reading Mamma did not come down to breakfast; so I interrupted papa at his newspaper to sound him, very much as I had sounded her.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading My head was still full of her.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We had promised to go and see Lady Lorrimer again next day at the same hour.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading WHAT CAN SHE MEAN?
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why doesn't she stay at home, and go out?" he repeated, smiling faintly as he did so.
Chapter 16 of Willing to Die: A Novel by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu holds 261 sentences, grouped into 53 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 16 holds 261 sentences of Willing to Die: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 53 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Willing to Die: A Novel by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 261 sentences, grouped into 53 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 53 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 53 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 16 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.
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Yes. All 7837 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34662 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34662, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1568 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Willing to Die: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Willing to Die: 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 Willing to Die: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
