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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. When Cecilia goes outside to get some fresh air during the Chapter 6 Wisteria Society meeting, what does she discover is happening?

2. What does Miss Darlington's irritation when Ned knocks at their door reveal about Miss Darlington?

3. In Chapter 3, what does Cecilia seem to find indecent about Ned's waistcoat?

4. What is the title of the poem that Cecilia is reading aloud in the book's opening?

5. What figure of speech is present in the phrase "winter dreamed in her eyes" (3)?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the two competing stories that Ned has heard about Morvath's marriage to Cilla?

2. How many husbands has Lady Armitage had, and what are their fates?

3. What is paradoxical about Lady Armitage's attitude toward Cecilia in Chapter 2?

4. What details of Ned's appearance in Chapter 1 cause Cecilia to assume that he is a pirate?

5. What is the history of Cecilia's relationship with Jane Fairweather?

6. What does Cecilia understand about Miss Brown's nighttime encounter with Tom Eames that Miss Brown herself fails to understand?

7. What does Cecilia hope will happen when she tells the Wisteria Society women about Lady Armitage's assassination attempt, and what actually happens?

8. In Chapter 8, what plan for Cecilia does Morvath reveal to Ned, and what motivates Morvath's plan?

9. What is Morvath's plan for England?

10. Where does Ned first lie down to sleep, and why does he quickly move to sleep elsewhere?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you compare and contrast the text's treatment of gender disparities with its treatment of class disparities. Which one does the text take more seriously? Where is the text's empathy more clearly directed? Does the text fully succeed in its commentary on either? Support your assertions with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels is an example of a sub-genre called "historical romance." Do some research into this genre and then write an essay that explains how this novel exemplifies the sub-genre. Be sure to consider characteristics of setting, plot, characterization, and theme; support your ideas with evidence from the text and cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you compare and contrast the characterizations of Cilla, Cecilia, and Miss Darlington. Establish what these characters have in common, how these characteristics are conveyed by the text, and how the similarities and differences in their characterizations support the novel's overall meaning. Support your claims with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the text.

(see the answer keys)

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