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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 does Mrs. Wilbraham bequeath to Lord Peter?

2. Which Fenchurch St. Paul parishioner has purchased several items identical to the one on which Lord Peter hoped to find fingerprints?

3. What family owns the Red House?

4. Who buys Mary Thoday a parrot?

5. Which Fenchurch St. Paul farmer still cures his own bacon?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Bunter get upset with Emily over the beer bottle found in the vestry?

2. Why does Will Thoday initially believe Deacon has returned to Fenchurch St. Paul and what is the actual reason Deacon has returned?

3. Who mutilates Deacon's body after his death and for what reason is the corpse mutilated?

4. How does Mary Thoday react when Lord Peter shows her the cipher, and what does her reaction indicate?

5. What makes Lord Peter and the police think that Arthur Cobbleigh and Jean Legros are the same man?

6. Why does Will Thoday take a large sum of money out of the bank and then redeposit it?

7. What surprising news is revealed about Deacon's murder when James and Will Thoday are left alone in a room with a hidden microphone?

8. How does Lord Peter solve the mystery of Deacon's death and what does the cause of Deacon's death turn out to be?

9. What is Jeff Deacon's tie to Arthur Cobbleigh?

10. How does Will Thoday die, and how does his death redeem his character?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast any three female characters in the novel. Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

Lord Peter Wimsey is the protagonist of the novel and is an aristocrat and amateur detective. Discuss the character of Lord Peter and his role as protagonist or hero. What are his character strengths and flaws? How do these strengths and flaws help and hinder him during the story? How does his aristocratic background help or hinder his detective work? Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the depiction of women in the novel. Are women in positions of leadership in the book? What characteristics are ascribed to women in the novel? Do the men in the novel treat the women as equals or do they try to dominate them? How does the treatment of women in the 1920's world of the novel change any from what it is in the present day? Cite at least three examples from the text to support your conclusions.

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