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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. When Elisabeth dreams on pages 201-206, where does she dream that she is?

2. When Elisabeth was 13, when did she go for a walk with Daniel, even though her mother told her not to?

3. What did Elisabeth do her dissertation on?

4. How old was Elisabeth when she was walking with Daniel where the canal met the countryside, and he showed her how summer was still there?

5. In Elisabeth's dream on pages 201-206, what does Elisabeth's father get tricked into buying?

Short Essay Questions

1. On pages 145-148, who was Elisabeth's boyfriend whom she met at her graduation from college and what happened to that relationship?

2. On pages 111-114, what does Elisabeth see when she goes to see Daniel?

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

4. On pages 167-172, what does the care center ask Elisabeth about when she visits?

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

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

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

8. What was Christine Keeler doing and what did she find when she was playing with some boys?

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

10. In March 1998, what does Elisabeth do with Daniel, and what do they discuss?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The novel takes place shortly after the vote in the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. What is Brexit? How does it influence characters and mood in the novel?

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

The novel is told from the point of view of a first-person omniscient narrator. What does this style of narration reveal about characters? How does the point of view influence readers and how they think about characters?

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