Chapter 24 of Wives and Widows is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XXIV
Chapter 24 of Wives and Widows is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BAFFLED AND DEFEATED. It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes. She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox. But a glimpse of Mrs. Lee's face made her start forward with a cry of dismay. "My mistress, she is dead!
Chapter 24 of Wives and Widows is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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 being in a specified place
From this reading “It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.”
people who are frustrated and perplexed
From this reading “BAFFLED AND DEFEATED.”
beaten or overcome; not victorious
From this reading “BAFFLED AND DEFEATED.”
the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles
From this reading “But a glimpse of Mrs. Lee's face made her start forward with a cry of dismay.”
time without end
From this reading “It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.”
possessive form of “lee” — United States filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in America (born in 1957)
From this reading “But a glimpse of Mrs. Lee's face made her start forward with a cry of dismay.”
-ing form of “regard” — deem to be
From this reading “She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.”
the process of paying close and continuous attention
From this reading “She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.”
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 “It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.”
be restored
In this reading “It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.”
In this reading “But a glimpse of Mrs. Lee's face made her start forward with a cry of dismay.”
In this reading “It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.”
In this reading “She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.”
In this reading “She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.”
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 came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.
not being in a specified place
From this reading It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.
Having no one else present.
From this reading She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading BAFFLED AND DEFEATED.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.
people who are frustrated and perplexed
From this reading BAFFLED AND DEFEATED.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But a glimpse of Mrs. Lee's face made her start forward with a cry of dismay.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading But a glimpse of Mrs. Lee's face made her start forward with a cry of dismay.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading "My mistress, she is dead!
beaten or overcome; not victorious
From this reading BAFFLED AND DEFEATED.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.
the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles
From this reading But a glimpse of Mrs. Lee's face made her start forward with a cry of dismay.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.
time without end
From this reading It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading But a glimpse of Mrs. Lee's face made her start forward with a cry of dismay.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading But a glimpse of Mrs. Lee's face made her start forward with a cry of dismay.
alert carnivorous mammal with pointed muzzle and ears and a bushy tail; most are predators that do not hunt in packs
From this reading She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.
a quick look
From this reading But a glimpse of Mrs. Lee's face made her start forward with a cry of dismay.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading But a glimpse of Mrs. Lee's face made her start forward with a cry of dismay.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "My mistress, she is dead!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.
having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
From this reading She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.
possessive form of “lee” — United States filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in America (born in 1957)
From this reading But a glimpse of Mrs. Lee's face made her start forward with a cry of dismay.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading But a glimpse of Mrs. Lee's face made her start forward with a cry of dismay.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.
an adulterous woman; a woman who has an ongoing extramarital sexual relationship with a man
From this reading "My mistress, she is dead!
plural of “movement” — a change of position that does not entail a change of location
From this reading She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "My mistress, she is dead!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.
-ing form of “regard” — deem to be
From this reading She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading But a glimpse of Mrs. Lee's face made her start forward with a cry of dismay.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.
the process of paying close and continuous attention
From this reading She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox.
but in spite of that
From this reading It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes.
Chapter 24 of Wives and Widows by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens holds 131 sentences, grouped into 27 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 24 holds 131 sentences of Wives and Widows, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of Wives and Widows by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 131 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 24 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 Widows by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7751 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36374 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36374, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1551 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Wives and Widows section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Wives and Widows 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 Wives and Widows, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
