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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 did Judith do professionally?

2. What was the name of Eastman Minor's second wife?

3. Who killed Merrett?

4. With whom was William to live upon arriving in the United States?

5. According to the author, who is the "second" protagonist of the story?

Short Essay Questions

1. What aspects of the Latin-English dictionaries provided impetus for the makers of the Oxford English Dictionary to make their own English dictionary?

2. For what reasons did Minor become the most famous contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary?

3. How might the fact that the killer was of a learned professional background NOT have been surprising to readers?

4. Why does the author suggest Oxford finally conceded to the switch from Furnivall to Murray for the position of editor?

5. In regards to Trench's speech, what did he view each word as having? What must be charted for each word?

6. Why does the author take time to note the sheer volume of words and weight of the Oxford English Dictionary? What parallels can be drawn between this and the dictionary's makers?

7. What can be surmised about the author's intention by naming his first chapter, " The Dead of Night in Lambeth Marsh"?

8. What effect could it have had on logophiles to learn that Samuel Johnson had imposed limits on the history of the definitions of words in his dictionary?

9. What effect could the tragic death of his daughter have had on Murray's diligence in working on the Oxford English Dictionary?

10. Some critics say that Samuel Johnson put too much of his personality into his work on his dictionary. How would it be possible to avoid this type of criticism?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Much of Chapter 3, The Madness of War, is taken up with Charles Minor's exploits around and during wartime. From this chapter, how do you think the author feels about war? Give examples to back up your answer.

Essay Topic 2

While Minor and Murray are the central figures in the text, secondary figures are also an important element of the book. Explore the ways in which three of these secondary figures are shown to have had an important influence on the events of the two protagonists' lives.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the links the author draws between various vices such as sex, drugs, and alcohol and their influence on the events of the story.

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