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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. How many times does Annabel read the suicide notes?

2. As Annabel lay sleepless, after the press conference, what were some of her thoughts?

3. Why would the suit cases have been searched?

4. Annabel asks Tom what else Luigi said to him in the conversation they had earlier. How does Tom respond?

5. When Annabel finally realizes that Billy has said "suicide notes," what does she do?

Short Essay Questions

1. How long has Frederick's mother been dead and why write to her?

2. Annabel left the flat and she went back to the hotel, along with Billy and the baby. She noticed that her suitcases were open and commented on it to Billy. He told her that it was probably the police investigating because Suicide is a criminal offense in Rome. What did Annabel say?

3. The neighbors had supported Annabel during the news conference with phrases about her courage and murmurs to the newsmen to tread with care. How had she handled the photographers with their questions?

4. Annabel was at the airport, waiting for the plane to Greece. With anonymity, she had bought a ticket and prepared to board a plane. How is it possible to feel free and unfree?

5. When the phone rang insistently in Annabel's room, despite instructions to hold calls, Billy answered it and said the police were downstairs. What would the police want?

6. Marina told Annabel a reporter contacted her to pay for her love story with Frederick but she turned him down. He wanted to know if Marina was near the Church when Frederick was chased by ladies. How did Marina respond when Annabel asked whether she really thought Frederick was crazy?

7. Danya, who Annabel was going to visit in the hospital, had told many nurses and several doctors that she had been in love with Frederick along with numerous other young women. How does her meeting with Annabel go?

8. Luigi had called the hotel many times and when Annabel got his messages, she called him and he came to the hotel on Sunday. He read the letters and wanted to know if there were any more. Annabel told him that Billy said no. What did Luigi believe?

9. Annabel is wide awake, after her sedation, and wants to know why all her friends haven't been in touch. What has happened with all the people she knows? Is she worried that they have turned against her?

10. When she returned to her room, Tom asked her why she had turned over the letters to the inquest, saying that she didn't have to do that. How did she answer him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Annabel makes a surprising decision at the end of the book. What do you think is her reason? What do you see as her future and why? Do you have any particular emotion at the decision she has made and if so, why?

Essay Topic 2

Annabel's motives usually spring from selfishness, although to an observer it might seem a selfless act. Does Annabel do anything from a sense of unselfishness? Frederick called her shallow, but she is very complex. Is that true? Give reasons why you agree or disagree.

Essay Topic 3

Is the author,Muriel Spark, a product of her times? The book was published forty years ago. Do you think attitudes towards men and women have changed? If changed, has it affected the workplace? The home? At times, do you find the author skewed in favor of favor of Frederick or Annabel? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

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