View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. When Elisabeth was 16, what was the name of a boy who wanted to make her laugh?

2. How long had Elisabeth been with her boyfriend she met upon graduating college when he asked her who Daniel was?

3. What did Wendy and another guest on the television show bond over?

4. How old was the actress that Wendy is going to be with on a show when Wendy used to watch the show 40 years ago?

5. In Elisabeth's dream on pages 201-206, who knocks on her door?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Elisabeth's new passport look like when she finally receives it?

2. On pages 129-144, what happens when Elisabeth walks by the fence?

3. What was the advertising campaign for Cream of Wheat breakfast cereal from 1900 to the mid-1920s?

4. On pages 111-114, what does Elisabeth wonder about the care assistants at the care center where Daniel is staying?

5. On pages 167-172, what does a caregiver tell Elisabeth about Daniel?

6. On pages 195-199, what has Elisabeth been hearing since the Brexit vote?

7. On pages 149-161, what did Elisabeth discover about Daniel and Pauline Boty?

8. On pages 195-199, who is Zoe?

9. On pages 201-206, what does Elisabeth remember about a time her mother banned her from seeing Daniel?

10. What happens when Elisabeth goes back to the post office to apply for her passport a second time?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The novel is divided into three sections, with each section being a month. How do the months of September, October, and November mirror what is going on in the lives of the characters? How do they especially reveal what is going on in Daniel’s life?

Essay Topic 2

Twice in the novel the phrase “it was the worst of times” is used in the novel. How does Smith use the phrase to highlight her disapproval of British conservatives and the pro-Brexit movement? What else does she criticize when she uses that phrase? What does she reveal about the reactions to Brexit and populism? In what way does the novel reveal that Smith believes it to be the worst of times?

Essay Topic 3

Daniel remembers a letter his sister wrote when she was caring for their mother. Why did Hannah write about hope and about time? Why did she believe that they were both important and not to be wasted?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 952 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample