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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. Which Fenchurch St. Paul farmer still cures his own bacon?

2. One year after Deacon's murder, how much deeper is the River Wale due to a rainy season?

3. What role does Bunter have while waiting out the flood in the church?

4. What does James Thoday rent and use to give himself an alibi in the murder of Jeff Deacon?

5. How do the police try to get Will and James Thoday to confess to Jeff Deacon's murder?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do Will and Mary Thoday have to remarry each other?

2. How does Lady Wilbraham respond when her stolen emeralds are found?

3. How does Will Thoday die, and how does his death redeem his character?

4. What is Jeff Deacon's tie to Arthur Cobbleigh?

5. Why does Will Thoday initially believe Deacon has returned to Fenchurch St. Paul and what is the actual reason Deacon has returned?

6. How does Lord Peter solve the mystery of Deacon's death and what does the cause of Deacon's death turn out to be?

7. What surprising news is revealed about Deacon's murder when James and Will Thoday are left alone in a room with a hidden microphone?

8. How does Suzanne Legros react when she is sent a photograph of Arthur Cobbleigh?

9. How does Mary Thoday react when Lord Peter shows her the cipher, and what does her reaction indicate?

10. Why does Will Thoday take a large sum of money out of the bank and then redeposit it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What are the major themes of this novel? Discuss at least three themes. Tell what the author is trying to say about each theme and how she depicts it. Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

Each chapter in The Nine Tailors begins with an epigraph. Discuss the author's technique of using epigraphs to introduce her chapters. How do the epigraphs relate to the chapters they introduce? What do you think Dorothy L. Sayers intends to convey or accomplish through this technique? Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

The Nine Tailors takes place in a small English village during the 1920's. Discuss how the geographical and chronological setting affect the story and how the characters and story might differ if Dorothy L. Sayers had set the novel in the United States during the 1940's instead. Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

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