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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What first edition book does Frank offer to send Helene in the fall of 1950?

2. How does Frank sign off in most his letters to Helene?

3. Who does Helene say she is in her first letter to Marks & Co.?

4. What anthology does Helene request Frank send her in late 1950?

5. What street does Helene live on in New York City?

Short Essay Questions

1. What news about Cecily does Nora share with Helene?

2. Why does Helene need to stop purchasing books in 1961?

3. What are Helene's friend Maxine's impressions when she visits Marks & Co. in London?

4. How does Frank respond to Helene's jokingly asking for prayers for the Brooklyn Dodgers playing in the World Series that year?

5. What does Helene apologize to the London booksellers for on behalf of America?

6. What is the tone of the note Helene sends with her Easter gift to Mark & Co?

7. What does Helene chastise Frank for in September of 1952?

8. Why does Helene have to stall her travel plans to England in 1953?

9. Why does Nora wish she and Frank owned their own bookshop?

10. How does Helene respond when Cecily expresses concern for how much Helene spends on the care packages she sends?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Helene concludes that she goes through life "watching the English language being raped before me face." What does she mean by this and why does she use a literary reference to Edward Arlington Robinson?

Essay Topic 2

Helene borders on rudeness in some of her exchanges with Frank. What do you think she intends to convey with this tone? Do you think Frank is ever offended by Helene's letter? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

The death of Frank marks the end of many things for Helene and the beginning of others. Discuss how Helene must have felt about Frank's death and what changes that it brought to her life.

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