Felix Holt, the Radical MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature

Felix Holt, the Radical MCQs
Updated on: November 2, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 17 min

Felix Holt, the Radical MCQs

1. In what memorable year does the novel open?

A. 1829
B. 1832
C. 1800
D. 1799

B. 1832.
The novel begins on September 1st, 1832, a politically active and memorable time for England.

2. What village was preparing a celebration for Harold Transome’s arrival?

A. Loamford
B. Treddleston
C. Little Treby
D. Stoniton

C. Little Treby.
The people in the village of Little Treby were waiting to greet a travelling carriage.

3. What physical feature best describes Mrs. Transome’s face?

A. Round cheeks
B. Eagle-like nose
C. Small mouth
D. Faint dimples

B. Eagle-like nose.
Mrs. Transome was a proud woman with a somewhat eagle-like, yet not unfeminine face.

4. What was Mr. Transome doing in the library when his wife entered?

A. Reading old books
B. Sweeping leaves
C. Arranging insect specimens
D. Polishing the floor

C. Arranging insect specimens.
Mr. Transome was busy arranging shallow drawers holding dried insects and mineral specimens.
5. What physical ailment marked Mr. Transome?

A. Heart trouble
B. A paralytic seizure
C. Deep depression
D. Severe gout

B. A paralytic seizure.
His uneven gait and feeble gestures told of a past stroke or paralytic seizure.

6. What job did Mrs. Transome perform for twelve years due to her husband’s feebleness?

A. Housekeeper
B. Chief bailiff
C. Seamstress
D. Secretary

B. Chief bailiff.
Mrs. Transome was used to being the chief bailiff and sitting in the saddle every day.

7. Why was Mrs. Transome distressed about Harold’s return, even though it was longed for?

A. He had lost his fortune
B. He wanted to sell the Court
C. He felt like a stranger to her
D. He hated his father

C. He felt like a stranger to her.
When their eyes met, the sense of strangeness came upon her like a terror.

8. What was Harold’s former professional ambition before becoming a merchant?

A. A soldier
B. A diplomatist
C. An engineer
D. A doctor

B. A diplomatist.
Harold had gone with the Embassy to Constantinople, hoping to work his way up as a diplomatist.

9. What news did Harold give his mother that shocked her the most?

A. He was selling the house
B. He was a wealthy merchant
C. He was marrying a Greek
D. He was a Radical

D. He was a Radical.
Mrs. Transome was shocked because Harold declared himself a Radical, a position unsuitable for county gentlemen.
10. What did Mrs. Transome tell herself she looked like in the mirror?

A. A queen
B. A hag
C. A faded image
D. A doll

B. A hag.
Looking closely at her wrinkled face, she said to herself, ‘I am a hag!’.

11. What was the chief source of bitterness regarding her first son, Durfey?

A. That the imbécile child should die
B. That he was a soldier
C. That he spent too much money
D. That he hated Harold

A. That the imbécile child should die.
She had long had a hungry desire that her rickety, imbécile child should die.

12. What was the name of Mrs. Transome’s housekeeper and lady’s maid?

A. Kitty
B. Denner
C. Lyddy
D. Esther

B. Denner.
The small old woman who served her, Mrs. Hickes, was still called Denner by her mistress.

13. What specific affliction did Mrs. Transome fear the most in her life?

A. Being hated by her husband
B. The worst misery she could imagine
C. The worst misery she could imagine
D. Her son leaving her

B. The worst misery she could imagine.
She considered that the best happiness she could have now was escaping the worst misery she could imagine.

14. What was the old Rector, Mr. Lingon, particularly fond of?

A. Fox hunting
B. Cock-fighting
C. Shooting
D. Drinking port

B. Cock-fighting.
The Reverend John Lingon unbosomed himself very freely about his love for cock-fighting.
15. Who was the lawyer whom Harold was advised to use but then quietly get rid of?

A. Mr. Lingon
B. Mr. John Johnson
C. Mr. Jermyn
D. Mr. Debarry

C. Mr. Jermyn.
The Rector disliked Mr. Matthew Jermyn but said Harold needed him as an election agent.

16. What did Mr. Lingon especially dislike about the lawyer Jermyn?

A. His sleekness and white hands
B. His poor taste in jewellery
C. His excessive baldness
D. His bad clothing

A. His sleekness and white hands.
Mr. Lingon called him a ‘fat-handed, glib-tongued fellow, with a scented cambric handkerchief’.

17. What was Mr. Lingon’s rationale for Harold being a Radical?

A. Harold was an honest man
B. The best sort of Tory turns to the best sort of Radical
C. It was the only way to save money
D. Harold was trying to defy his father

B. The best sort of Tory turns to the best sort of Radical.
The Rector argued that the best sort of Tory blood, like good milk, throws up a Liberal cream.

18. What was the first business that Harold insisted on taking up after breakfast with Jermyn?

A. The condition of the poor
B. The prospects about the election
C. The estate mortgages
D. The appointment of new tenants

B. The prospects about the election.
As breakfast progressed, Harold asked about the prospects for the election.

19. What political action did Harold say would not be his?

A. Running as a Whig
B. Getting money from London
C. Coalescing with Mr. Debarry
D. Being too honest

C. Coalescing with Mr. Debarry.
Harold plainly stated he would not coalesce with Mr. Debarry, confirming he would run as a Radical.
20. What reason did Harold give for never marrying again?

A. English wives interfere too much
B. He wanted to pursue politics
C. He lacked sufficient money
D. He preferred foreign women

A. English wives interfere too much.
Harold declared he hated English wives because they constantly interfere with a man’s chosen life.

21. What was Harold’s plan concerning the family lawyer, Mr. Jermyn?

A. To make him his new estate manager
B. To get rid of him quietly after the election
C. To trust him completely on the election expenses
D. To immediately file a lawsuit against him

B. To get rid of him quietly after the election.
Harold told his uncle that Jermyn must be used for the election, then quietly dropped.

22. What did Harold offer his mother if she stopped meddling in his politics?

A. The family silver
B. A trip to London
C. A new carriage and bays
D. Control of the stables

C. A new carriage and bays.
Harold promised her a new carriage and a pair of bays entirely for her own use.

23. Where was the location of the great inn, the Marquis of Granby?

A. Little Treby
B. Loamford
C. Treby Magna
D. Duffield

C. Treby Magna.
The excellent inn, the Marquis of Granby, stood prominently in the marketplace of Treby Magna.

24. What was the main trade of Mr. Tiliot, mentioned in connection with political differences?

A. Grocer
B. Lawyer
C. Spirit-merchant
D. Tape-weaver

C. Spirit-merchant.
Mr. Tiliot, the Church spirit-merchant, became politically opposed to Mr. Nuttwood, the grocer.
25. What did Felix Holt inherit the occupation from his father?

A. Farming
B. A quack medicine
C. The local newspaper
D. Watchmaking

B. A quack medicine.
Felix inherited nothing better than a quack medicine left by his deceased father.

26. Where were the Dissenters in Treby Magna said to gather for worship?

A. The parish church
B. Malthouse Yard
C. The Free School
D. The Marquis of Granby

B. Malthouse Yard.
Mrs. Holt went to see the Rev. Rufus Lyon, minister of the Independent Chapel usually spoken of as ‘Malthouse Yard’.

27. What did Felix say her son Felix thought of Mr. Lyon’s preaching?

A. It was too long
B. It was not high enough
C. He was a fine old fellow and an old-fashioned Puritan
D. It was too short

C. He was a fine old fellow and an old-fashioned Puritan.
Felix said Mr. Lyon was a fine old fellow and an old-fashioned Puritan, despite some ‘dreadful language’.

28. What did Felix say was the only failure a man should fear?

A. Failure to make money
B. Failure in cleaving to the right
C. Failure to convert
D. Failure to marry

B. Failure in cleaving to the right.
Felix believed the only failure worth dreading was failure in cleaving to the right and being true to conscience.

29. What object in Mr. Lyon’s room did Esther disguise with green gauze?

A. A map of the Holy Land
B. A black bust
C. A portrait of Dr. Doddridge
D. A pile of books

B. A black bust.
The minister’s daughter had covered the black bust with a coloured face with green gauze.
30. What did Felix declare he would live on to keep his mother, if necessary?

A. Water
B. Bran porridge
C. Vegetables only
D. Dry bread

B. Bran porridge.
Felix insisted he could earn enough to keep his mother living, himself on bran porridge.

31. What item of Esther’s did Felix drop and expose during their first interview?

A. Her prayer book
B. Her Bible
C. Byron’s Poems
D. Her locket

C. Byron’s Poems.
Felix accidentally knocked over the table and picked up a damaged duodecimo volume of Byron’s Poems.

32. What was the central business that brought Harold to Mr. Lyon’s house?

A. To discuss the Bible
B. To cement political adhesion
C. To ask Esther to marry him
D. To complain about Jermyn

B. To cement political adhesion.
Harold came to cement political adhesion with the minister, who had influence over liberal electors.

33. What was the immediate subject on which Mr. Lyon corrected Harold’s opinion?

A. Church rates
B. The ballot-box
C. The constitution
D. The Reform Bill

B. The ballot-box.
Mr. Lyon strongly took the negative side on the question of the ballot box.

34. What was the chief complaint Felix brought to Harold concerning electioneering agents?

A. They failed to canvass
B. They were dishonest to the bank
C. They bribed non-voters (colliers) with drink
D. They insulted Mr. Lyon

C. They bribed non-voters (colliers) with drink.
Felix complained that Harold’s agents were bribing colliers and navvies with extra drunkenness.
35. What was the first name of the last living representative of the old Transome line?

A. Henry
B. Maurice
C. Thomas
D. Matthew

C. Thomas.
Thomas Transome, also known as Trounsem, was the last of that line whose interest secured the estate.

36. What name did Thomas Transome, the bill-sticker, commonly go by?

A. Old Sleck
B. Tommy Trounsem
C. Dredge
D. Mike Brindle

B. Tommy Trounsem.
The bill-sticker was known as Tommy Trounsem in common speech.

37. What was the original basis for the Transomes’ right to the estate?

A. A royal grant
B. A base fee created in 1729
C. The death of the Bycliffe heir
D. A legal judgment in 1810

B. A base fee created in 1729.
The Transome title was based on a base fee established under the original settlement of 1729.

38. What condition was required for the Bycliffe claim to become valid against the Transomes?

A. If the Bycliffe heir proved the marriage
B. If the prodigal Thomas Transome’s issue became extinct
C. If the original deed was found
D. If the heir joined the Church

B. If the prodigal Thomas Transome’s issue became extinct.
The Bycliffe claim was dependent upon the prodigal Thomas Transome’s issue becoming extinct.

39. What did Mr. Tiliot accuse the Radicals of doing to lure away voters?

A. Promising them land
B. Bribing them with cheap gin
C. Stealing their votes
D. Luring away by treating done in Transome’s name

D. Luring away by treating done in Transome’s name.
Mr. Tiliot angrily complained that the Radicals were luring away voters by treating done in Transome’s name.
40. What sight made Felix realize his initial purpose in going to Duffield was becoming hopeless?

A. The number of police
B. The cheering crowds
C. Johnson passed to and fro and spoke to Jermyn
D. The empty hustings

C. Johnson passed to and fro and spoke to Jermyn.
Seeing Johnson with Jermyn made Felix feel despair at the slow process of curing such iniquity.

41. What was the profession of the man who spoke so eloquently about monopolists to the crowd at Duffield?

A. Manufacturer
B. Trades-union man
C. Barrister
D. Labourer

B. Trades-union man.
The speaker in the flannel shirt who talked of monopolists and working men’s share was a trade-union man.

42. What did Felix say was the greatest power under heaven?

A. Votes
B. Public opinion
C. The Bible
D. Money

B. Public opinion.
Felix said the greatest power under heaven is public opinion, or the ruling belief in society.

43. Where did Felix finally manage to secure Spratt after the mob dropped him?

A. At the Seven Stars
B. At the back door of the Marquis
C. At the finger-post platform
D. In Tiliot’s vaults

C. At the finger-post platform.
Felix rushed the helpless Spratt onto the stone platform at the fork of the street and tied him up.

44. What shocking information did Jermyn give Harold at the White Hart meeting?

A. That Harold was ruined
B. That Jermyn was his father
C. That Esther was married
D. That his mother was ill

B. That Jermyn was his father.
When Harold tried to strike him, Jermyn said, in a grating voice, ‘I am your father’.
45. What was the immediate result of the fatal encounter between Felix and Tucker?

A. Tucker was slightly injured
B. Tucker was dead from spinal concussion
C. Felix was sent home
D. Felix was immediately pardoned

B. Tucker was dead from spinal concussion.
Tucker was dead from a spinal concussion, which made the charge against Felix one of manslaughter.

46. What was Harold Transome expected to arrive at Transome Court?

A. Loamford Manor
B. The Marquis of Granby
C. Transome Court
D. Little Treby Rectory

C. Transome Court.
The village was preparing a celebration for the arrival of Harold Transome at Transome Court.

47. What is the approximate age range of Mrs. Transome?

A. Thirties
B. Forties
C. Fifty to sixty
D. Over seventy

C. Fifty to sixty.
Mrs. Transome’s figure was slim and fine, despite being between fifty and sixty years old.

48. What did Mr. Transome talk loudly to when he thought he was unwatched?

A. Dominic
B. The lodge-keeper
C. His old black retriever
D. The marble statues

C. His old black retriever.
He was seen whispering his thoughts aloud to Nimrod, his fine black retriever, thinking no one heard.

49. What physical ailment marked Mr. Transome’s body?

A. Heart trouble
B. A paralytic seizure
C. Deep depression
D. Severe gout

B. A paralytic seizure.
His uneven gait and feeble gestures told of a past stroke or paralytic seizure.
50. Who did Harold leave behind to follow him with the rest of the luggage?

A. His Greek wife
B. The business partner
C. Dominic and the small boy
D. The family lawyer

C. Dominic and the small boy.
He informed his mother that his man, Dominic, would bring the little boy with the rest of the luggage.

Brief Overview

Felix Holt, the Radical is a novel by George Eliot. It centers on the moral and political conflicts in a fictional English town during the 1832 Reform Act era.

The main character is Felix Holt, a poor, principled carpenter and watchmaker. Felix is a self-proclaimed Radical who strongly rejects political corruption and class privilege. He lives simply in the town of Treby Magna.

The central conflict arises when Harold Transome, a wealthy aristocrat, returns home and runs for Parliament as a Radical candidate. The election causes major unrest. Felix attempts to stop a drunken mob from rioting, but a constable is killed during the fighting. Felix is wrongly arrested for manslaughter and sent to prison.

The story also focuses on Esther Lyon, a beautiful minister’s daughter who initially finds her life dull. She comes to admire Felix’s high moral purpose. Esther discovers a major secret: she is the true, rightful heir to the vast Transome family estate.

Harold Transome, the current owner, proposes marriage to Esther. Esther visits Felix in prison and realizes she loves him more than wealth or social status. She chooses to give up her claim to the rich estate. Felix is eventually released from prison, and they marry, choosing a life dedicated to simple, honest work.

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