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Cover of Sons of the Soil
Project Gutenberg Library B1C1

Sons of the Soil

Sons of the Soil by Honoré de Balzac is available here as the complete text, split into 957 reading sections of 5 sentences, each with audio and tap-to-define vocabulary.

Honoré de Balzac23 chapters

Sons of the Soil by Honoré de Balzac. Complete source text from Project Gutenberg eBook #1417.

23 chaptersComplete chronicle
Five linesIn each reading
US EnglishNarration and vocabulary
Open Chapter I

Academic course · 23 chapters

Course Syllabus

This syllabus gives direct access to every published chapter and its complete sequence of five-line English readings.

Sons of the Soil

Select a chapter to continue in the Cinema Lecture Hall with line-by-line English learning.

0 of 949 original contextual illustrations are live; remaining readings use the book cover while their artwork is reviewed.

  1. Chapter I 42 readings five lines each Open chapter
  2. Chapter II A Bucolic Overlooked by Virgil 38 readings five lines each Open chapter
  3. Chapter III The Tavern 43 readings five lines each Open chapter
  4. Chapter IV Another Idyll 60 readings five lines each Open chapter
  5. Chapter V Enemies Face to Face 75 readings five lines each Open chapter
  6. Chapter VI A Tale of Thieves 35 readings five lines each Open chapter
  7. Chapter VII Certain Lost Social Species 36 readings five lines each Open chapter
  8. Chapter VIII The Great Revolutions of a Little Valley 73 readings five lines each Open chapter
  9. Chapter IX Concerning the Mediocracy 45 readings five lines each Open chapter
  10. Chapter X The Sadness of a Happy Woman 51 readings five lines each Open chapter
  11. Chapter XI 56 readings five lines each Open chapter
  12. Chapter XII Showeth How the Tavern Is the People’s Parliament 52 readings five lines each Open chapter
  13. Chapter XIII A Type of the Country Usurer 52 readings five lines each Open chapter
  14. Chapter XIV The Leading Society of Soulanges 47 readings five lines each Open chapter
  15. Chapter XV The Conspirators in the Queen’s Salon 51 readings five lines each Open chapter
  16. Chapter XVI The Cafe de la Paix 28 readings five lines each Open chapter
  17. Chapter XVII The Triumvirate of Ville-Aux-Fayes 41 readings five lines each Open chapter
  18. Chapter XVIII Victory Without a Fight 24 readings five lines each Open chapter
  19. Chapter XIX The Forest and the Harvest 18 readings five lines each Open chapter
  20. Chapter XX The Greyhound 33 readings five lines each Open chapter
  21. Chapter XXI Rural Virtue 15 readings five lines each Open chapter
  22. Chapter XXII The Catastrophe 15 readings five lines each Open chapter
  23. Chapter XXIII The Triumph of the Vanquished 19 readings five lines each Open chapter

This edition of Sons of the Soil by Honoré de Balzac carries the complete text of Project Gutenberg eBook #1417, divided into 23 chapters and 957 reading sections of 5 sentences each. Every sentence of the source is kept, and each chapter records which sentences cover which part of the story. Any word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.

Where can I read Sons of the Soil in full?

The complete text of Sons of the Soil is here, taken from Project Gutenberg eBook #1417 and divided into 957 sections.

This page carries the whole of Sons of the Soil by Honoré de Balzac, not an abridgement or a summary. The text comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #1417, with the Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence removed so that only the work itself remains. It runs to 4784 sentences across 23 chapters. Each chapter stores a record of which sentences cover which part of the work, so nothing is quietly dropped between the source edition and the page you read.

How is Sons of the Soil divided for reading?

Sons of the Soil is presented in 23 chapters, each split into sections of 5 sentences for steady reading.

Rather than presenting Sons of the Soil as unbroken pages, the text is grouped into 957 sections of 5 sentences each. A section is short enough to hold in mind at once, which suits a reader working in a second language or returning to a long work in short sittings. The sections are gathered into 23 chapters.

Can I hear Sons of the Soil read aloud?

Yes. Every sentence and every individual word of Sons of the Soil can be played aloud, and each word shows its dictionary entry.

Every sentence of Sons of the Soil can be played aloud, and so can any single word within it. Tapping a word plays it on its own and opens its dictionary entry, with the pronunciation shown in IPA alongside the part of speech and meaning. The reading voice uses United States English. This matters most for a work of this period, where a reader meets vocabulary and turns of phrase that are no longer in daily use and cannot be guessed reliably from spelling alone.

Questions about reading Sons of the Soil

Common questions about reading Sons of the Soil by Honoré de Balzac on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Sons of the Soil?

Yes. All 4784 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1417 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Sons of the Soil is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #1417, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Sons of the Soil take to read?

About 398 minutes of reading across 957 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Sons of the Soil section by section

How to work through Sons of the Soil section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 23 chapters of Sons of the Soil 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 Sons of the Soil

Words and structures a reader meets early in Sons of the Soil, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Aigues
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Sons of the Soil; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
August
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Sons of the Soil; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Nathan
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Sons of the Soil; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Provide
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Sons of the Soil; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.