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

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

3. What does Marks & Co. specialize in?

4. What term does Helene hope doesn't mean the same thing in England as it does in America?

5. Cecily's letter says that Mr. Martin thinks Helene has _____________.

Short Essay Questions

1. What kind of books of poems does Helene request from Marks & Co. in her March 25, 1950 letter?

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

3. What prompts Frank's wife Nora to write Helene for the first time?

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

5. Why does Helene's request from the British booksellers decrease by 1968?

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

7. Why does Helene Hanff write the first letter to the proprietors of the Marks & Co. bookstore in London, England?

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

9. What does the staff of Marks & Co. send to Helene to thank her for her generosity?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the theme of appearance versus reality throughout the book.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how Helene finds a valuable connection in reading the words that many others have read before her.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss how Helene's relationship with the bookshop employees deepens and extends to include other people over the years.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 709 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample