Chapter 12 of Wives and Daughters is here in full — 585 sentences across 117 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Wives and Daughters is here in full — 585 sentences across 117 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MR. OSBORNE'S SECRET. Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home. She gathered that Osborne was coming; but very little was said about him in any way. The Squire scarcely ever left his wife's room; he sat by her, watching her, and now and then moaning to himself.
Chapter 12 of Wives and Daughters is here in full — 585 sentences across 117 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/117 · 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 “Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.”
brought about or set up or accepted; especially long established
From this reading “Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.”
-ing form of “moan” — indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure
From this reading “The Squire scarcely ever left his wife's room; he sat by her, watching her, and now and then moaning to himself.”
popular aquarium fish
From this reading “Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.”
English playwright (1929-1994)
From this reading “OSBORNE'S SECRET.”
possessive form of “osborne” — English playwright (1929-1994)
From this reading “OSBORNE'S SECRET.”
young nobleman attendant on a knight
From this reading “The Squire scarcely ever left his wife's room; he sat by her, watching her, and now and then moaning to himself.”
possessive form of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading “The Squire scarcely ever left his wife's room; he sat by her, watching her, and now and then moaning to himself.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading She gathered that Osborne was coming; but very little was said about him in any way.
the state of being absent
From this reading Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.
later than; following
From this reading Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading She gathered that Osborne was coming; but very little was said about him in any way.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading She gathered that Osborne was coming; but very little was said about him in any way.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The Squire scarcely ever left his wife's room; he sat by her, watching her, and now and then moaning to himself.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading She gathered that Osborne was coming; but very little was said about him in any way.
brought about or set up or accepted; especially long established
From this reading Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.
at any time
From this reading The Squire scarcely ever left his wife's room; he sat by her, watching her, and now and then moaning to himself.
set up or found
From this reading Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.
brought together in one place
From this reading She gathered that Osborne was coming; but very little was said about him in any way.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The Squire scarcely ever left his wife's room; he sat by her, watching her, and now and then moaning to himself.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The Squire scarcely ever left his wife's room; he sat by her, watching her, and now and then moaning to himself.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She gathered that Osborne was coming; but very little was said about him in any way.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading The Squire scarcely ever left his wife's room; he sat by her, watching her, and now and then moaning to himself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The Squire scarcely ever left his wife's room; he sat by her, watching her, and now and then moaning to himself.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She gathered that Osborne was coming; but very little was said about him in any way.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading The Squire scarcely ever left his wife's room; he sat by her, watching her, and now and then moaning to himself.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading She gathered that Osborne was coming; but very little was said about him in any way.
-ing form of “moan” — indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure
From this reading The Squire scarcely ever left his wife's room; he sat by her, watching her, and now and then moaning to himself.
popular aquarium fish
From this reading Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.
a form of address for a man
From this reading MR.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading The Squire scarcely ever left his wife's room; he sat by her, watching her, and now and then moaning to himself.
English playwright (1929-1994)
From this reading Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.
possessive form of “osborne” — English playwright (1929-1994)
From this reading OSBORNE'S SECRET.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading The Squire scarcely ever left his wife's room; he sat by her, watching her, and now and then moaning to himself.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading She gathered that Osborne was coming; but very little was said about him in any way.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading The Squire scarcely ever left his wife's room; he sat by her, watching her, and now and then moaning to himself.
only a very short time before
From this reading The Squire scarcely ever left his wife's room; he sat by her, watching her, and now and then moaning to himself.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading OSBORNE'S SECRET.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.
young nobleman attendant on a knight
From this reading The Squire scarcely ever left his wife's room; he sat by her, watching her, and now and then moaning to himself.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She gathered that Osborne was coming; but very little was said about him in any way.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading The Squire scarcely ever left his wife's room; he sat by her, watching her, and now and then moaning to himself.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.
precisely as stated
From this reading She gathered that Osborne was coming; but very little was said about him in any way.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She gathered that Osborne was coming; but very little was said about him in any way.
the act of observing; taking a patient look
From this reading The Squire scarcely ever left his wife's room; he sat by her, watching her, and now and then moaning to himself.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading She gathered that Osborne was coming; but very little was said about him in any way.
at the time that
From this reading Osborne and Roger came to the Hall; Molly found Roger established there when she returned after this absence at home.
possessive form of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading The Squire scarcely ever left his wife's room; he sat by her, watching her, and now and then moaning to himself.
Chapter 12 of Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell holds 585 sentences, grouped into 117 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 12 holds 585 sentences of Wives and Daughters, unabridged, divided into 117 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 585 sentences, grouped into 117 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 117 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 117 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 12 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 Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 13287 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4274 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4274, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2658 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Wives and Daughters section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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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 Wives and Daughters, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
