Estimated Reading Time: 19 min
The Old Curiosity Shop MCQs
1. What is the narrator’s general preference for the time of day for walking?
A. Early morning
B. Broad noon
C. After dark
D. Mid-day glare
2. When the narrator first meets Nell, what does he initially guess about the old man she is with?
A. He is a doctor.
B. He is in dotage or imbecility.
C. He is a kind clergyman.
D. He is a rich miser.
3. What is the old man’s name for his grandchild?
A. Kitty
B. Nell
C. Mary
D. Dolly
4. How long did the old man say he was blinded by his desire to make his fortune before coming to Quilp for money?
A. A few weeks
B. Shortly after sending Fred to sea
C. A long time, having it in his sleep for months
D. Until Nell was born
5. What was the “precious scheme” the grandfather used Quilp’s loans and advances for?
A. Investing in the shop
B. The gaming-table
C. Nell’s education
D. Buying a cottage
6. What feeling was Nell’s anxiety and distress largely restrained by, even when her heart was overflowing?
A. Fear of the dark
B. Constant fear of injuring the old man
C. Distrust of Kit
D. Shame of their poverty
7. What realization led the grandfather and Nell to flee the Old Curiosity Shop?
A. Quilp’s arrival
B. The money had been lost and they were beggars.
C. Quilp locked the doors at night.
D. The fear that Nell would be taken from him.
8. What book did Nell reference, comparing herself and her grandfather during their flight to “Christian”?
A. The Bible
B. The Beggar’s Petition
C. The Pilgrim’s Progress
D. Robinson Crusoe
9. What is the name of the dwarf who is Quilp’s companion?
A. Fred Trent
B. Dick Swiveller
C. Daniel Quilp
D. Kit
10. What physical characteristic did Mrs. Quilp’s mother, Mrs. Jiniwin, slander, leading to Quilp’s rage?
A. His short stature
B. His legs
C. His ugly face
D. His small hands
11. What did Quilp threaten to do to his wife if she ever listened to the “beldames” (tea-drinkers) again?
A. Divorce her
B. Bite her
C. Lock her up
D. Send her away
12. During the breakfast scene, what unusual food preparation did Quilp demonstrate?
A. Eating hard eggs, shell and all
B. Drinking cold tea
C. Eating raw bacon
D. Drinking only water
13. What was the typical occupation of the amphibious boy at Quilp’s Wharf when the tide was out?
A. Running errands
B. Throwing stones into the mud
C. Washing copper
D. Repairing ships
14. What was the boy’s reaction to Quilp threatening to cut off one of his feet if he stood on his head again?
A. He cried.
B. He stood on his head immediately after Quilp shut the door.
C. He ran away.
D. He told Quilp he would not do it again.
15. What did Quilp reward Kit with for “always speaking the truth” after the fight?
A. A shilling
B. Sixpence
C. A new hat
D. A new job
16. What did Mrs. Quilp call herself when admitting to Quilp that she had led Nell on to tell her secret?
A. A fool
B. A spy
C. A crocodile (her favorite part)
D. A minx
17. Why did Quilp move his bachelor’s hall to the counting-house?
A. To save rent
B. To have freedom from matrimony and agitate his wife
C. To be closer to the ships
D. To plot with Brass
18. How did Dick Swiveller write his letters to his aunt to look penitent and effective?
A. He used bad grammar.
B. He would blot them and shake water over them.
C. He included a picture of himself crying.
D. He asked Nell to write for him.
19. What was Richard Swiveller’s temporary position secured for him by Quilp?
A. Notary’s clerk
B. Brass’s clerk
C. Pawnbroker’s apprentice
D. Waiter
20. What did Dick Swiveller describe the small servant as, when talking to himself about her treatment?
A. A small girl
B. A mystery
C. A mermaid
D. A note of interrogation
21. What did Mr. Swiveller name the small servant for his games of cribbage?
A. Sophronia
B. Miss Sophy
C. The Marchioness
D. Sally
22. What was the location of Mr. Sampson Brass’s office?
A. Tower Hill
B. Duke’s Place
C. Bevis Marks
D. Finchley
23. What was the hidden purpose of Sampson Brass offering Kit’s mother lodging and a weekly allowance?
A. To gain favour with Kit
B. To serve Quilp’s grudge against Kit
C. To give Kit’s mother a nice place to live
D. To spy on the single gentleman
24. What object was found containing the stolen five-pound bank note, incriminating Kit?
A. Kit’s pocket
B. Kit’s shoe
C. Kit’s hat
D. Kit’s coat pocket
25. What two plotters did the Notary state must be brought to justice regarding the scheme against Kit?
A. Quilp and Nell
B. Brass and Sally
C. Quilp and Brass
D. Brass and Kit
26. What trade were the two traveling men who took in Nell and her grandfather engaged in?
A. Traveling musicians
B. Punch and Judy showmen
C. Fortune tellers
D. Pedlars
27. What was the name of Mrs. Jarley’s exhibition?
A. The Stupendous Collection
B. The Minervian Marvels
C. Jarley’s Wax-Work
D. The Nobility’s Delight
28. What was Miss Monflathers’s primary criticism of Nell’s existence?
A. She was too thin.
B. She should be doing needlework.
C. She was a very wicked little child to be a wax-work child.
D. She was too clever.
29. What did the stout man (Jowl) reveal as the time frame since they had first put the match/gambling idea into the old man’s head?
A. Three days
B. Three weeks
C. Five months
D. One night
30. In the manufacturing town, where did the kind labourer offer Nell and her grandfather refuge?
A. His cottage
B. By his furnace fire
C. A church
D. An inn
31. What sight, which caused Nell to shriek and faint, made her recognize the man looking at his book in the busy town?
A. Quilp
B. The single gentleman
C. The poor schoolmaster
D. Her brother Fred
32. What reason did the schoolmaster give for loving Nell, which was transferred to her?
A. His love for his dead student
B. Her great intelligence
C. Her beauty
D. Her innocence
33. What did the old sexton say was underneath the belfry of the church?
A. A secret tomb
B. A deep, dark, echoing well
C. A bell forge
D. A statue of Queen Bess
34. What made the old man (grandfather) suddenly awake to a continuous, anxious solicitude for Nell?
A. Quilp’s appearance.
B. Nell’s fear of the graves of young people.
C. The single gentleman’s letter.
D. The sexton’s story.
35. What did the grandfather say was the one thought that never left him?
A. That Nell would die.
B. That he would regain his fortune.
C. That Quilp would find them.
D. That Nell would be poor when he was dead.
36. What did the grandfather do in the middle of the night that terrified Nell?
A. He spoke to Quilp.
B. He stole money from her.
C. He tried to light a fire.
D. He left the church.
37. Who was the “single gentleman” revealed to be?
A. Quilp’s older brother
B. The grandfather’s younger brother
C. Dick Swiveller’s uncle
D. Miss Havisham’s cousin
38. What was the relationship between the grandfather and his brother (the single gentleman)?
A. They were bitter rivals.
B. They had never met.
C. The grandfather was falsely accused of wronging him.
D. The single gentleman had stolen the grandfather’s inheritance.
39. How did Kit finally discover Nell’s location?
A. He followed Quilp.
B. He received a letter from Nell.
C. He encountered the single gentleman.
D. He was led there by the schoolmaster.
40. How did Daniel Quilp die?
A. He was murdered by Brass.
B. He drowned in the fog-bound river.
C. He was caught in a fire.
D. He died of a sudden illness.
41. What happened to Sampson and Sally Brass?
A. They became rich.
B. Sally was imprisoned; Sampson became a degraded informer.
C. They were both hanged.
D. They fled the country.
42. What was the fate of Dick Swiveller?
A. He died from his illness.
B. He inherited a small annuity and married the Marchioness.
C. He became a lawyer.
D. He married Sophronia Sphynx.
43. What happened to Kit after he was freed?
A. He moved to the country with his family.
B. He became a clerk for the single gentleman.
C. He reopened the Old Curiosity Shop.
D. He married Barbara.
44. What was the final state of the grandfather after Nell’s death?
A. He became a wealthy man.
B. He became a mindless, harmless old man at her grave.
C. He returned to London in shame.
D. He was imprisoned for his debts.
45. What “holy” object did Nell place in her bosom at night?
A. A small Bible
B. A prayer book
C. A twig of the old tree
D. A lock of her grandfather’s hair
46. Who was Nell’s brother?
A. Kit Nubbles
B. Dick Swiveller
C. Fred Trent
D. The single gentleman
47. What did the schoolmaster’s little scholar always lay upon his desk?
A. An apple
B. A book
C. Fresh flowers
D. A coin
48. What did the Marchioness do to save Dick Swiveller’s life?
A. She sold her belongings for medicine.
B. She found a doctor for him.
C. She nursed him through his fever.
D. She contacted his wealthy aunt.
49. What did Dick Swiveller call the lodging at the Brasses’?
A. The Temple of Law
B. The Abode of Misery
C. The Glorious Garret
D. The Dusky Bower
50. What did the grandfather do with the money he stole from Nell?
A. He hid it in the church.
B. He bought food for them.
C. He lost it all at cards.
D. He gave it to Quilp.
Brief Overview
The Old Curiosity Shop tells the story of Little Nell Trent. She lives with her éderly Grandfather in his shop, a building filled with dusty antiques. The Grandfather is secretly addicted to gambling, desperate to win a fortune so Nell will not live in poverty.
He borrows money from the evil moneylender, Daniel Quilp. Quilp is a cruel, deformed man who enjoys tormenting others. When the Grandfather loses all the money and cannot pay, Quilp seizes the shop, leaving them with nothing.
Forced onto the streets, Nell and her Grandfather flee London in the middle of the night. They wander through the English countryside, trying to escape Quilp. They meet many different people on their journey, some kind and helpful, others cruel and dangerous.
Meanwhile, their loyal friend Kit Nubbles tries to find them. A mysterious man, simply called the “single gentleman,” is also searching for them. Quilp, however, enjoys the hunt and tries to stop them, even framing Kit for a crime.
The long and difficult journey makes Little Nell very sick. She and her Grandfather finally find a peaceful refuge in a quiet village, looking after an old church. Their friends eventually track them down, but they arrive too late.
Little Nell dies from her illness and exhaustion. Her heartbroken Grandfather cannot live without her and dies on her grave just a short time later. In the end, Quilp falls into a river while fleeing and drowns in the mud.
