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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. Which Fenchurch St. Paul parishioner has purchased several items identical to the one on which Lord Peter hoped to find fingerprints?

3. Who asks Lord Peter to warn Fenchurch St. Paul that the sluice gates are giving way?

4. How is Will Thoday planning to get Jeff Deacon out of town until he becomes too ill with the flu to carry out his plan?

5. What is the only area of Fenchurch St. Paul not covered in water?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Lord Peter find the stolen emeralds?

2. To whom does Lady Wilbraham leave her money when she dies and for what is she trying to atone in how she bequeaths her wealth?

3. What does the behavior of the villagers during the flood indicate about the closeness of the people and the church's role in their lives?

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

5. What aspect of the mystery of Jeff Deacon's death is Lord Peter still unable to solve one year after first becoming involved in the puzzle?

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

7. What makes Lord Peter and the police think that Arthur Cobbleigh and Jean Legros are the same man?

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

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

10. What brings Lord Peter back to Fenchurch St. Paul one year after he abandons the mystery of Jeff Deacon's murder?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Several people in The Nine Tailors turn out not to be who or what they initially seem. Discuss the novel's motif of hidden identities and public masques. Cite examples form the text to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the concept of religion and ritual in The Nine Tailors. What do you think the author is trying to say about religion in English society through this novel? Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

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