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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. Harriet suggests to the Dean that what be installed on the top of the walls?

2. Several of Harriet's classmates ask her about which Lord?

3. Whom does Harriet find lying on the ground drunk in the middle of the night?

4. In which language is the note that Harriet found on the hanging figure?

5. To what does Saint-George invite Harriet after their first meeting?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Harriet find it difficult to write to Peter after visiting Saint-George in the hospital?

2. Why does Miss Martin, Dean at Shrewsbury College, write a letter to Harriet in Chapter 4?

3. After the vandalism of the New Library, what do the Warden and Harriet decide about the investigation?

4. What is significant about April 1st?

5. Why is Saint-George unable to keep his lunch appointment with Harriet?

6. Harriet drives to Oxford to attend the opening of the new library and to investigate which incidents?

7. Why does Harriet offer to help Miss Lydgate with her proofs?

8. What does Harriet learn from Arbuthnot about Peter?

9. What happens to Jukes in Chapter 9?

10. Does Harriet learn anything about the poltergeist from the night when the fuses were removed?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At one point, Peter tells Harriet to write her current mystery about human beings, not just a jigsaw puzzle. Has Dorothy Sayers done that? Support your answer with at least three references to the book.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the three gifts that Peter has given Harriet. Compare the first two. What is significant about the third? How does Harriet react to each one?

Essay Topic 3

Detective fiction usually involves a central character who solves the mystery. In the case of Gaudy Night, however, it is not Harriet but Peter who solves the mystery. Which one do you think is the main character of the book?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 728 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample