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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. Who provides Jeff Deacon with food while he's imprisoned in the church bellchamber?

2. Where does Lord Peter decide that the missing emeralds must be hidden?

3. Whose photo does Lord Peter send to Suzanne Legros to be identified?

4. What does the proverb "Nine Tailors make a man" mean in Fenchurch St. Paul?

5. Who do the police initially charge with the murder of Jean Legros?

Short Essay Questions

1. Discuss the religious symbolism in the flood of Fenchurch St. Paul and the villagers' experience in the church during the flood.

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

3. What account of Deacon's death does Cranton give when charged with Deacon's murder?

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

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

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

7. 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?

8. 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?

9. Who mutilates Deacon's body after his death and for what reason is the corpse mutilated?

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

Compare and contrast the detective characters in the story: Lord Peter Wimsey, Superintendent Blundell and Chief Inspector Parker. How do the techniques of Lord Peter, the amateur, compare with those of the professionals? Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

A number of red herrings appear in The Nine Tailors. Discuss at least three examples of red herrings from the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the depiction of women in the novel. Are women in positions of leadership in the book? What characteristics are ascribed to women in the novel? Do the men in the novel treat the women as equals or do they try to dominate them? How does the treatment of women in the 1920's world of the novel change any from what it is in the present day? Cite at least three examples from the text to support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

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