Book Anatomy · The Leavenworth Case
The Leavenworth Case: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for The Leavenworth Case by Anna Katharine Green. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6 H7 H8 H9 H10 H11 H12 H13 H14 H15 H16 H17
H1. Readability score per chapter. Count
Flesch reading ease for the whole book is about 71 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
7,225 different words. On average 50 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 3,111 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
mary, hannah, coroner, raymond, cousin. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 12.62 words ending in 'ly' and 8.82 likely adjectives per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
'ly' words per 1,000, chapter by chapter
H5. Share of weak verbs such as "was" and "had". Count
'Was', 'were', 'had', 'is' and 'are' make up 3.2% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 6.0% of sentences use a passive form such as 'was taken'. (rough estimate from word lists)
H7. Variety of sentence openings. Count
The five most common first words start 29% of sentences: i, but, the, and, it.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 926 |
| but | 375 |
| the | 287 |
| and | 267 |
| it | 225 |
| you | 197 |
| gryce | 185 |
| she | 163 |
| no | 154 |
| mr | 151 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.91 of its mean on average (higher means a more varied rhythm).
Variation per chapter, chapter by chapter
H9. Similes and metaphors: how many, and of what kind. Both
111 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 1.0 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 2, para 21: “All I know? A few words will do that. I left him last night sitting as usual at his library table, and found him this morning, seated in …
Ch 3, para 3: For a few minutes I sat dazed by the sudden flood of light greeting me from the many open windows; then, as the strongly contrasting features of the …
Ch 4, para 46: By this time you could have heard a pin drop. The certainty that the murderer, whoever he was, had not left the house, at least till after it …
Ch 4, para 49: “Yes, sir; Mr. Harwell says he saw him as late as half-past ten in the evening.”
Ch 4, para 68: “Almost immediate, as soon as Miss Eleanore recovered, and that was as soon as ever the water touched her lips.”
Ch 4, para 68: “Almost immediate, as soon as Miss Eleanore recovered, and that was as soon as ever the water touched her lips.”
Green uses similes and metaphors sparingly but pointedly. Key examples include Eleanore as a 'glorious woman' (c7), Harwell's love as a 'blazing torch' in his soul (c38), and the investigation as a puzzle with threads to gather. Most figurative language serves emotional or investigative clarity rather than ornament.
Chapters: Ch 7, Ch 38, Ch 36
Seated in an easy chair of embroidered satin, but rousing from her half-recumbent position, like one who was in the act of launching a powerful invective, I beheld a glorious woman. (Ch 7, para 13)
a blazing torch fell into my soul whose flame has never gone out, and never will, till the doom before me is accomplished. (Ch 38, para 4)
If I failed in what I had undertaken, it would not be from lack of opportunity of studying the inmates of this dwelling. (Ch 16, para 61)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 66%, sound 23%, touch 9%, taste 2%, smell 0%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 970 |
| sound | 333 |
| touch | 138 |
| taste | 31 |
| smell | 5 |
Sight dominates: faces, handkerchiefs, pistols, letters examined. Sound appears in testimony and footsteps. Touch is rare but crucial, Raymond's hand on Hannah's pulseless heart (c29). Smell and taste are absent. The book privileges visual evidence as detective work.
Chapters: Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 6, Ch 29
It was the only wound discovered on the body, and having probed it, he had found and extracted the bullet which he now handed to the jury. (Ch 3, para 8)
Tearing down the clothes, I laid my hand upon her heart. It was pulseless as stone. (Ch 29, para 22)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
103 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 0.93 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Lists of three appear in Gryce's deductions and Harwell's confession of passions ('Ambition, love, jealousy, hatred, revenge'). Repetition marks emotional peaks: 'I! I! I!' when Harwell confesses (c36). Patterns reinforce obsession and guilt rather than rhythm.
Chapters: Ch 36, Ch 38
It is a lie! a lie! Mary Leavenworth is innocent as a babe unborn. I am the murderer of Mr. Leavenworth. I! I! I! (Ch 36, para 25)
I am not a bad man; I am only an intense one. Ambition, love, jealousy, hatred, revenge--transitory emotions with some, are terrific passions with me. (Ch 38, para 3)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: whilst, hath, nay, twas, thou, ere.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| whilst | 3 |
| hath | 2 |
| nay | 1 |
| twas | 1 |
| thou | 1 |
| ere | 1 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
Green shows rather than tells through dialogue and scene. Eleanore's innocence is proven by her oath over her uncle's corpse (c13) rather than stated. Harwell's obsession emerges through his actions and confessions. The handkerchief and key are shown as evidence, not explained away.
Chapters: Ch 13, Ch 36, Ch 38
laying her cheek against the pallid brow of her dead benefactor, she kissed the clay-cold lips softly, wildly, agonizedly (Ch 13, para 42)
It is a lie! a lie! Mary Leavenworth is innocent as a babe unborn. I am the murderer of Mr. Leavenworth. I! I! I! (Ch 36, para 25)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description is minimal and functional. Green moves quickly into action and dialogue. The Leavenworth house is sketched in passing; characters' appearances are noted briefly before they speak. Setting serves plot, not atmosphere.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 7, Ch 16
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 5.72 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| saw | 143 |
| seemed | 112 |
| thought | 110 |
| heard | 100 |
| knew | 78 |
| felt | 68 |
| noticed | 8 |
| watched | 8 |
| realized | 7 |
| wondered | 2 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from legal formality in the inquest (c2, c6) to intimate first-person doubt (c7, c14) to detective procedural (c15, c26) to gothic horror (c28, c30) to revelation (c36, c39). Each shift marks a new phase of investigation and emotional stakes.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 7, Ch 15, Ch 28, Ch 36
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy is minimal. Gryce's self-assurance ('I am always found out' about disguises, c15) offers dry humour. Harwell's dream-based accusation of Clavering (c20, c21) has ironic weight. The book prioritises mystery over wit.
Chapters: Ch 15, Ch 20, Ch 21
I cannot pass myself off for a gentleman. Tailors and barbers are no good; I am always found out. (Ch 15, para 51)
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