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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 reason does Rachel give Seecombe for wanting breakfast in her room when she first arrives in England?

2. What alternative to a brain tumor does Nick Kendall suggest to explain Ambrose's incoherent letter?

3. What does Seecombe bring to Rachel's room on her first night that amuses Philip?

4. On the morning Philip and Rachel are to go riding, where does Philip find Rachel?

5. What did a young Philip do before walking away from the hanged man?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Ambrose say that Rachel is related to the Ashley family?

2. Why does Rainaldi think that Rachel will never return to Italy?

3. Why does Philip feel ashamed of his feelings when Ambrose wrote to say he was engaged?

4. What makes Philip think that Ambrose may have had a premonition of his death?

5. What reason does Philip give Rachel for not hating her now that he has met her?

6. Why does Rachel say she felt strange when arriving at Philip's house?

7. Why does Ambrose tell Philip that Tom Jenkyn had no excuse for killing his wife?

8. Shortly after Rachel's arrival, why does Tamlyn fail to come and collect his pay at the usual time?

9. Why do the servants address Philip differently when he returns home from Italy?

10. What reason does Rachel give in her letter for having taken all of Ambrose's possessions from the villa after he died?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Money, or the lack of it, changes the way that people think and act. The author shows this through both Philip and Rachel. Write an essay explaining how money affects the lives of both characters and examining how the author uses the characters to support this idea.

Essay Topic 2

One of du Maurier’s central themes is the nature of women. Write an essay discussing the theme. How does the author use Rachel and Louise to demonstrate the nature of women? What idea is the author trying to convey? How does she deliver her message?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay discussing good and evil in the novel. How does the author challenge the reader’s notion of what is good and evil? In the end, which of the characters is good and which is evil?

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