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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 Helene do when she received the first edition from Frank in 1950?

2. What phrase from the Marks & Co.'s advertisement scares Helene?

3. Where does the professor teach who first got Helene interested in good literature?

4. Who does Cecily tell Helene that she is going on vacation with?

5. How is the first letter Helene receives from Marks & Co. signed?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Frank's passion for old books comforting to Helene?

2. What news about Megan and Cecily does Frank share in 1964?

3. Why does Helene lose her job as a TV script writer?

4. What does Nora reveal to Helene after Frank dies?

5. Why is Helene so thrilled to receive Walton's Lives from Frank in 1952?

6. Why is Helene concerned that Frank may be ripping pages out of books?

7. Why does Helene inquire about the rations in London in a letter to Marks & Co?

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

9. What is Helene's response to Frank inquiring if she would like a first edition of Newman's Idea of a University?

10. Why is Helene upset about the Pepys' Diary sent to her?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Helene admits to not being fond of fiction, yet in many ways these letters read like a novel. Discuss the "fictional" aspects of the letters.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the unspoken stories that lie beneath the surface of the letters, which encompass so many people over so many years.

Essay Topic 3

From a literary standpoint, how does Frank serves as a foil to Helene's razor sharp wit?

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This section contains 742 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample