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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 Ned is trying to catch Cecilia in the portrait gallery, what does he reveal to her?

2. On page 243, what does Ned say when he sees the building Morvath is flying explode?

3. Part of the title of Chapter 18 is "The Villain's Denouement"--what does "denouement" refer to in this context?

4. Why does Ned question Cecilia's order to land the house after she blows a hold in the abbey's west wing?

5. What is the fate of the small building Morvath is flying?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Ned realizes that Cecilia has a hangover, how does he explain it to her, and why?

2. Why did Morvath kill Ned's mother?

3. What is so upsetting to Ned about Cecilia's "defensive tones" when she is talking about her paternal heritage (128)?

4. Where are the queen and Oply at the beginning of Chapter 19, and what are they doing?

5. What daydream of Ned's makes it clear that he is not fully paying attention to what Cecilia is telling him about their future?

6. When the guard catches Ned and Cecilia in the gallery, what does Ned chat to the guard about, and what is the real purpose of his commentary?

7. What is Cecilia's reasoning for suggesting that she and Ned spend some time alone in her bedroom before they rejoin the rest of the Wisteria Society?

8. In what way were Cilla's and Patrick's parenting styles ill-suited to Cecilia's temperament?

9. What is the surface content of Jane and Cecilia's first conversation in Morvath's breakfast room, and what is their real purpose underneath this surface?

10. When they are in the secret garden and Cecilia disappears into Millie's house to get a ladder, what mystifies her about Ned's reaction?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels is replete with allusions to Victorian-era texts. Choose one such allusion and write an essay about its significance. Explain the allusion and its implications, then explain what light this allusion sheds on a character or characters in The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels. Offer evidence from the text in support of your claims, and cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

How does The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels both parody and pay homage to the Victorian Gothic novel? Write an essay that first uses research from outside sources to establish the conventions of the Victorian Gothic--its typical language, plot, characters, and settings. Then, write a section that shows how The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels pays homage to these conventions. Finally, conclude your essay with a section that shows how The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels parodies some of these same conventions. Offer both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the novel to support your claims; be sure to cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Choose a chapter of the book to focus on. Write an essay that examines how comic diction in this chapter supports the text's overall meaning. Study Holton's word choices carefully and then consider what categories her comic diction falls into. Do all of these categories support meaning in the same way, or do their purposes differ? They might support tone, establish character, point out incongruities, or perform other significant tasks, depending on which chapter you choose. Support your claims with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the novel.

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