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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 does Vivian have for breakfast her first morning at the Duchess's cottage?

2. What is one reason Vivian is nervous about her trip to the stables in Chapter 4?

3. What does Vivian find it most difficult to adjust to in England on her first day there?

4. In Chapter 4, what does Vivian tell Malcolm she hoped she might see in England?

5. Why is Vivian looking only at the back of the horse's head she is riding on for the first part of her ride on the horse?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Maddie ask Vivian to come to England with her for Christmas, and not her boyfriend Theo?

2. Why does Maddie tell Vivian she never takes enough time for herself in Chapter 1?

3. In Chapter 3, how does Vivian tell Malcolm she feels about their outing on Sandringham Estate the second day of her visit there?

4. In Chapter 2, what does Malcolm tell Vivian his main job is?

5. In Chapter 2, what is difficult for Vivian to get used to as she walks around Sandringham Estate with Malcolm and why?

6. In Chapter 4, what forward question does Vivian ask Malcolm about his personal life?

7. How does it come to pass that Malcolm Hudson gives Vivian a tour of Sandringham Estate?

8. In Chapter 1, why are there often fires in the bedrooms at Sycamore Cottage, and what happened when the Duchess tried to use electric space heaters?

9. In Chapter 4, what does Tim, the stable manager, tell Vivian she should think about when she deals with the horses?

10. In Chapter 4, why is Vivian reluctant to wear a hat despite the cold when she is out with Malcolm?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What do you think Vivian's greatest positive impact on Malcolm is in terms of helping him resolve stressful issues or problems in his life? What do you think Malcolm's greatest positive impact on Vivian is in the same regard? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Why do you think Guillory chooses to keep some of the finer details of Vivian's and Malcolm's lives vague in her narration? For example, the reader knows Vivian acts as a caregiver for her sister Jo, and that Malcolm is stressed by the chaos in parliament, but Guillory does not expand upon these descriptions beyond very basic information. Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analyzing how Vivian chooses to deal with her initial uncertainty about how the staff at Frogmore Cottage might feel about serving her, a middle-aged, middle-class black American woman.

(see the answer keys)

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