Charles Dickens

Study question Charles Dickens

Facts about Charles Dickens

➾ As a boy, Charles Dickens was the only member of his immediate family not sent to a debtor’s prison.

➾ Dickens literally worked himself to death, collapsing during physically shattering public reading tours that sped up his demise.

➾ The heroic self-sacrifice in A Tale of Two Cities was inspired by an acting role Dickens himself played on stage.

➾ At the height of his fame, roughly one out of every ten people in Victorian England was an avid reader of his work.

➾ Dickens rehearsed his novels by acting out his characters in a mirror before writing them down.

➾ The traumatic factory job he despised as a child became the single greatest resource for his famous novels.

➾ The personal turmoil of separating from his wife during an affair directly coincided with his writing of the revolutionary classic, A Tale of Two Cities.

➾ A painful rejection by his first love fueled the emotional drama in some of his most famous characters, like David Copperfield.

➾ He often wrote his serialized novels at a breakneck pace, sometimes finishing an installment just days before it was published.

➾ His stories were so popular that even those who couldn’t read knew them, thanks to as many as 20 London theatres performing adaptations at once.

➾ He died so suddenly that his final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, remains an unsolved mystery to this day.

Charles Dickens MCQs

1. When was Charles Dickens born?

A. February 7, 1820
B. December 9, 1812
C. February 7, 1812
D. June 9, 1870

C. February 7, 1812

Dickens was one of the most famous authors of the Victorian era in England.

2. In what English city was Charles Dickens born?

A. London
B. Chatham
C. Coketown
D. Portsmouth

D. Portsmouth

He was born in Portsmouth, a city on the southern coast of England where his father worked for the Navy Pay Office.

3. What was Charles Dickens’s father, John Dickens, employed as?

A. A schoolmaster
B. A clerk for the Naval Pay office
C. A solicitor
D. A factory manager

B. A clerk for the Naval Pay office

His father’s job was respectable, but his inability to manage money caused the family great hardship.

4. Why was Dickens’s father imprisoned when Charles was young?

A. For theft
B. For debt
C. For political treason
D. For libel

B. For debt

His father’s imprisonment for debt was a humiliating experience that deeply affected Dickens’s life and writing.

5. At what age did Dickens first go to work at a blacking warehouse?

A. Ten
B. Twelve
C. Fifteen
D. Sixteen

B. Twelve

This difficult period of child labor gave him a firsthand understanding of poverty and industrial hardship.

6. Which novel recounts Dickens’s experiences with poverty semi-autobiographically?

A. Great Expectations
B. David Copperfield
C. Oliver Twist
D. A Tale of Two Cities

B. David Copperfield

Many events in this novel, especially David’s time working in a factory, are based on Dickens’s own childhood.

7. What major theme grew out of his experiences in the blacking warehouse?

A. Romantic love
B. Historical accuracy
C. Social justice and reform
D. The beauty of nature

C. Social justice and reform

His early experiences with poverty made him a lifelong advocate for social reform in his novels.

8. Who was a major influence on Dickens’s imagination as a young boy?

A. His father, John Dickens
B. His nursemaid, who told him stories
C. Lord Crew
D. Miguel de Cervantes

B. His nursemaid, who told him stories

The scary and vivid stories his nursemaid, Mary Weller, told him had a lasting impact on his imagination.

9. What characteristic of picaresque novels influenced his idea to serialize his works?

A. Their focus on nobility
B. Their use of high prose
C. Their series of loosely linked adventures
D. Their short length

C. Their series of loosely linked adventures

The structure of these adventure stories was well-suited for publishing in separate, exciting monthly installments.

10. How did Dickens launch his career as a journalist with little formal schooling?

A. He inherited money for tuition.
B. He taught himself shorthand.
C. He secured a letter of recommendation.
D. He was taught by his father.

B. He taught himself shorthand.

His skill in shorthand allowed him to work as a reporter, giving him material for his stories and novels.

11. At what age did Dickens get a job as a court reporter?

A. Twelve
B. Fourteen
C. Sixteen
D. Twenty

C. Sixteen

He started his journalism career at a very young age due to his skill and determination.

12. The newspaper A Mirror of Parliament reported on the decisions of which body?

A. The Monarchy
B. The courts
C. Parliament
D. The Royal Society

C. Parliament

His time as a parliamentary reporter gave him a cynical view of politics and government bureaucracy.

13. To aid in his writing, Dickens was known to act out characters using what tool?

A. A stage
B. The mirror
C. A puppet
D. The pen

B. The mirror

He would make faces and speak his characters’ dialogue in a mirror to bring them to life before writing.

14. After becoming disillusioned with politics, Dickens contributed to which type of publication?

A. A scholarly journal
B. A financial newspaper
C. A radical newspaper, the True Sun
D. A children’s magazine

C. A radical newspaper, the True Sun

His disillusionment with mainstream politics led him to contribute to more radical publications.

15. What was Dickens doing professionally until the end of his life, besides writing novels?

A. Acting on stage
B. Editing magazines and continuing journalistic work
C. Practicing law
D. Teaching at a university

B. Editing magazines and continuing journalistic work

Dickens was a respected magazine editor, publishing his own work and that of other writers.

16. How many substantial novels did Charles Dickens complete?

A. Eight
B. Ten
C. Fifteen
D. Twenty

C. Fifteen

He was an incredibly productive writer, completing fifteen major novels in his lifetime.

17. What was the title of the novel Dickens left unfinished?

A. Barnaby Rudge
B. Our Mutual Friend
C. The Mystery of Edwin Drood
D. Bleak House

C. The Mystery of Edwin Drood

He died before completing this mystery novel, and the solution to the central crime remains unknown.

18. Which serialized work gave Dickens his first true success?

A. Oliver Twist
B. The Pickwick Papers
C. A Christmas Carol
D. Great Expectations

B. The Pickwick Papers

The monthly installments of this comic novel were a publishing sensation and made Dickens famous.

19. How many copies of each monthly issue of The Pickwick Papers were sold?

A. Under ten thousand
B. Exactly twenty thousand
C. Over forty thousand
D. Over one hundred thousand

C. Over forty thousand

The immense popularity of the series made Dickens a household name across Britain.

20. What major publishing practice did Dickens make profitable?

A. Writing historical fiction
B. Serialization of novels
C. Using famous illustrators
D. Publishing in hardback

B. Serialization of novels

By publishing his novels in cheap monthly or weekly parts, he made them accessible to a huge audience.

21. In 1836, Dickens married Catherine Hogarth, daughter of whom?

A. A close relative
B. Lord Crew
C. A fellow co-worker at his newspaper
D. His publisher

C. A fellow co-worker at his newspaper

He married the daughter of George Hogarth, the editor of the paper where he worked as a young journalist.

22. How many children did Dickens and Catherine Hogarth have?

A. Three
B. Six
C. Eight
D. Ten

D. Ten

Despite having a large family, his marriage to Catherine was not a happy one and ended in separation.

23. When did Dickens and Catherine Hogarth separate?

A. 1843
B. 1850
C. 1858
D. 1868

C. 1858

Their separation after a long marriage was a major public scandal at the time, especially given his fame.

24. What two early novels followed The Pickwick Papers?

A. Bleak House and Great Expectations
B. Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby
C. A Tale of Two Cities and Barnaby Rudge
D. Hard Times and Little Dorrit

B. Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby

These novels cemented his fame and showed his growing interest in social criticism and memorable characters.

25. Which 1843 work reflects Dickens’s disenchantment with society’s obsession with money?

A. David Copperfield
B. A Christmas Carol
C. Martin Chuzzlewit
D. The Old Curiosity Shop

B. A Christmas Carol

This famous holiday story is a powerful moral tale about greed, poverty, and personal redemption.

26. In which decade did Dickens’s travels abroad begin?

A. The 1820s
B. The 1840s
C. The 1850s
D. The 1860s

B. The 1840s

His travels to America and Italy in the 1840s provided material for travel books and his novels.

27. Which of Dickens’s weekly periodicals published A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations?

A. The Daily News
B. The Morning Chronicle
C. Household Words (later All the Year Round)
D. Bentley’s Miscellany

C. Household Words (later All the Year Round)

As an editor, he serialized some of his most famous novels in his own popular magazines.

28. Which book inspired him to write A Tale of Two Cities?

A. Shakespeare’s histories
B. Thomas Carlyle’s The French Revolution
C. Don Quixote
D. Arabian Nights

B. Thomas Carlyle’s The French Revolution

Dickens drew heavily on Carlyle’s vivid historical account for the events and atmosphere of his novel.

29. Dickens was inspired by his role in which play by Wilkie Collins?

A. The Woman in White
B. The Frozen Deep
C. The Moonstone
D. No Name

B. The Frozen Deep

His performance as a man who sacrifices himself for his rival gave him the core idea for *A Tale of Two Cities*.

30. In 1859, A Tale of Two Cities premiered in which new journal?

A. The True Sun
B. A Mirror of Parliament
C. All the Year Round
D. The Daily News

C. All the Year Round

This was the successor to his earlier magazine, *Household Words*, and a major vehicle for his later work.

31. What activity began to exact a great physical toll on Dickens in the 1860s?

A. Running the blacking warehouse
B. Public readings of his works
C. Editing The Daily News
D. Touring Europe

B. Public readings of his works

His dramatic public performances were immensely popular but were also physically and emotionally exhausting.

32. A series of readings in which country sped Dickens’s decline?

A. France
B. America
C. Italy
D. Scotland

B. America

An extensive and grueling reading tour in America left him in poor health from which he never fully recovered.

33. When did Charles Dickens die?

A. February 7, 1812
B. May 1, 1869
C. June 9, 1870
D. December 25, 1870

C. June 9, 1870

He died of a stroke at the age of 58, leaving his final novel, *The Mystery of Edwin Drood*, unfinished.

34. Where was Charles Dickens buried?

A. Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey
B. Portsmouth Cathedral
C. Gad’s Hill
D. London’s Royal Cemetery

A. Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey

Despite his wish for a private burial, he was given a national honor and interred in the famous London abbey.

35. In terms of fame, Dickens is considered second only to whom among English writers?

A. William Wordsworth
B. Jane Austen
C. William Shakespeare
D. Thomas Carlyle

C. William Shakespeare

His enduring popularity and vast cast of memorable characters place him second only to Shakespeare in English literature.

36. What were two of Dickens’s earlier jobs that provided him with knowledge?

A. Teacher and doctor
B. Law clerk and court reporter
C. Factory worker and soldier
D. Actor and stage manager

B. Law clerk and court reporter

These jobs gave him intimate knowledge of London’s legal world, which he often criticized in his novels.

37. What did Dickens’s writing provide a sympathetic chronicle of?

A. The plight of the aristocracy
B. The plight of the urban poor in nineteenth-century England
C. The history of Parliament
D. The wealth of factory owners

B. The plight of the urban poor in nineteenth-century England

His novels are famous for their vivid and compassionate portrayal of the struggles of the poor in Victorian cities.

38. The influx of urban workers in Dickens’s novels was associated with what?

A. The Age of Enlightenment
B. The Renaissance
C. The Industrial Revolution
D. The Agricultural Revolution

C. The Industrial Revolution

Dickens’s novels capture the massive social changes and urban poverty created by the Industrial Revolution.

39. Who was the actress Dickens fell in love with, leading to his separation?

A. Lucie Manette
B. Ellen Ternan
C. Catherine Hogarth
D. Maria Beadnell

B. Ellen Ternan

His relationship with the young actress Ellen Ternan was a major factor in the breakdown of his marriage.

40. The love triangle in The Frozen Deep became the basis for which novel?

A. Great Expectations
B. David Copperfield
C. A Tale of Two Cities
D. Oliver Twist

C. A Tale of Two Cities

The plot of self-sacrifice for a rival in love was directly inspired by the play he acted in.

41. Which novel was Dickens’s only historical fiction before A Tale of Two Cities?

A. Nicholas Nickleby
B. Barnaby Rudge
C. Dombey and Son
D. Little Dorrit

B. Barnaby Rudge

*Barnaby Rudge*, set during the Gordon Riots of 1780, was his first major attempt at a historical novel.

42. A Tale of Two Cities showed Dickens in transition before writing which two later novels?

A. Sketches by “Boz” and The Pickwick Papers
B. Great Expectations and Our Mutual Friend
C. Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol
D. Martin Chuzzlewit and Bleak House

B. Great Expectations and Our Mutual Friend

This novel marks a shift towards the more complex and psychologically deep novels of his late career.

43. In which town did Dickens spend his happiest childhood years?

A. London
B. Portsmouth
C. Chatham
D. Dover

C. Chatham

His time in Chatham, before his family’s financial troubles, was a period of relative stability and happiness.

44. Which character in David Copperfield dramatizes his father’s failings?

A. Bill Sikes
B. Mr. Micawber
C. Fagin
D. Sydney Carton

B. Mr. Micawber

The financially troubled but ever-optimistic Mr. Micawber is a famous and affectionate caricature of his own father.

45. Dickens resented his mother for wanting him to stay at work where?

A. At his law clerk job
B. In the blacking warehouse
C. As a court reporter
D. At the Naval Pay office

B. In the blacking warehouse

He never forgave his mother for wanting him to continue working at the factory after his father was released from prison.

46. Dickens’s rejection by Maria Beadnell is reflected in David Copperfield’s adoration of whom?

A. Lucie Manette
B. Dora Spenlow
C. Catherine Hogarth
D. Little Nell

B. Dora Spenlow

David’s youthful and impractical love for the charming but childish Dora mirrors Dickens’s own frustrating early romance.

47. What did Dickens write in 1836, besides novels?

A. Two historical novels
B. Two plays and a pamphlet
C. Two scholarly articles
D. Three short stories

B. Two plays and a pamphlet

In addition to his fiction, Dickens was also active in the theatre and wrote non-fiction on social issues.

48. What type of novel did Dickens attempt with Barnaby Rudge?

A. Comic satire
B. Picaresque novel
C. Historical novel
D. Romance novel

C. Historical novel

This was his first attempt at the genre, preceding the more famous *A Tale of Two Cities*.

49. What innovation did Oliver Twist contribute to English fiction?

A. A focus on purely factual education
B. An occasion for pathos and social criticism
C. A means of elevating the aristocracy
D. A focus on the joys of city life

B. An occasion for pathos and social criticism

*Oliver Twist* was groundbreaking for using the story of a poor orphan to criticize social institutions like the workhouse.

50. Who was the illustrator for Sketches by “Boz” and Oliver Twist?

A. “Phiz” (Hablot K. Browne)
B. George Cruikshank
C. Thomas Carlyle
D. Wilkie Collins

B. George Cruikshank

Cruikshank’s famous illustrations helped create the iconic images of characters like Fagin and the Artful Dodger.

Little Dorrit MCQs

1. Where was the novel’s opening scene set thirty years ago?

A. London
B. Paris
C. Marseilles
D. Toulon

C. Marseilles.

The novel opens in a Marseilles prison, immediately establishing the central theme of imprisonment, both literal and metaphorical.

2. Who is the reserved Englishwoman who questions whether a prisoner forgives his prison?

A. Pet
B. Mrs Meagles
C. Miss Wade
D. Tattycoram

C. Miss Wade.

Miss Wade’s character introduces a subplot about psychological imprisonment stemming from resentment and a sense of persecution.

3. Where was Arthur Clennam sitting when he arrived in London?

A. At a hotel in Dover
B. Window of a coffee-house on Ludgate Hill
C. In his mother’s house
D. At St Paul’s Cathedral

B. Window of a coffee-house on Ludgate Hill.

Arthur’s arrival in a gloomy, oppressive London on a Sunday sets the tone for his return and the state of English society.

4. What was the title of the horrible tract that scared Arthur in his childhood?

A. The Sinner’s Guide
B. Why he was going to Perdition
C. The Wages of Sin
D. The Fiery Pit

B. Why he was going to Perdition.

This highlights the harsh, joyless Calvinistic upbringing that has crippled Arthur’s spirit and ability to act decisively.

5. How long had the fire been in the grate, night and day, in Mrs Clennam’s room?

A. Fifteen months
B. One year
C. Fifteen years
D. Two score years

C. Fifteen years.

The perpetually burning fire symbolizes Mrs. Clennam’s unyielding, self-imposed penance and the stagnant, oppressive atmosphere of her home.

6. What item did Arthur find and leave in his father’s desk?

A. A letter
B. An old silk watch-paper worked in beads
C. A large sum of money
D. A final memorandum

B. An old silk watch-paper worked in beads.

The watch with the message “Do not forget” is the central clue to the family mystery that Arthur is trying to solve.

7. What power did Mrs Clennam claim to have influenced for more than two score years?

A. Arthur’s life decisions
B. All his father’s dealings
C. The household staff
D. The church

B. All his father’s dealings.

This establishes Mrs. Clennam’s complete control and her role as the keeper of the family’s dark secrets.

8. What is the name of the debtors’ prison that Arthur inquires about?

A. The Lock
B. The Clink
C. The Marshalsea
D. The County Jail

C. The Marshalsea.

The Marshalsea debtors’ prison is a central location and symbol, representing social decay and the traps of poverty and class.

9. Who are William Dorrit’s three children?

A. Frederick, Fanny, and Amy
B. Fanny, Tip, and Amy
C. Tip, Edward, and Fanny
D. Amy, Tip, and Minnie

B. Fanny, Tip, and Amy.

These are the three children of William Dorrit, each shaped differently by their life in the Marshalsea.

10. Who is the little girl often referred to as “Little Dorrit”?

A. Fanny
B. Pet
C. Minnie
D. Amy

D. Amy.

Amy, known as Little Dorrit, is the novel’s heroine, born and raised in the prison. She represents selfless love and fortitude.

11. What was the “great study and object” of all public departments and politicians regarding work?

A. How to do it
B. How not to do it
C. How to maximize profit
D. How to confuse the public

B. How not to do it.

This is the core principle of the Circumlocution Office, Dickens’s famous satire on inefficient and obstructive government bureaucracy.

12. What is the occupation of Daniel Doyce?

A. Architect
B. Lawyer
C. Smith and engineer
D. Inventor of forms

C. Smith and engineer.

Daniel Doyce represents the practical, inventive, and honest working man thwarted by the bureaucracy of the Circumlocution Office.

13. Who had been the beloved of Arthur Clennam’s boyhood?

A. Amy Dorrit
B. Pet Meagles
C. Miss Wade
D. Flora Casby

D. Flora Casby.

Flora Finching (née Casby) was Arthur’s first love, and her changed, comically incoherent nature represents his lost youth and the passage of time.

14. What is the main collection interest of Mr Pancks?

A. Old books
B. Foreign stamps
C. Advertisements relative to next of kin
D. Political tracts

C. Advertisements relative to next of kin.

Pancks’s hobby of searching for heirs in advertisements directly leads to his discovery of the Dorrit family’s fortune.

15. How does William Dorrit view the degradation of his life in prison?

A. As a great injustice
B. As a sign of his perseverance
C. As a sort of portion bestowed on his devoted child
D. As a temporary setback

C. As a sort of portion bestowed on his devoted child.

This demonstrates William Dorrit’s profound selfishness, twisting his daughter’s sacrifice into a form of inheritance for her.

16. Who is Mrs Merdle’s son from a former marriage?

A. Henry Gowan
B. Tite Barnacle
C. Edmund Sparkler
D. Arthur Clennam

C. Edmund Sparkler.

Sparkler is the vacuous stepson of the great financier Mr. Merdle. His pursuit of Fanny Dorrit connects the two families.

17. What did Bar the lawyer offer Mr Merdle regarding a potential purchase?

A. A share in a bank
B. A large estate with political influence and church presentations
C. Advice on the Circumlocution Office
D. A partnership with Doyce

B. A large estate with political influence and church presentations.

This shows how Mr. Merdle’s immense (and fraudulent) wealth gives him power over the highest levels of society, including politics and the church.

18. What remedy did the Bishop suggest for depression arising from an over-taxed intellect?

A. Rest and vacation
B. Reading the Bible
C. Yolk of a new-laid egg with sherry and nutmeg
D. Strong tea

C. Yolk of a new-laid egg with sherry and nutmeg.

The Bishop’s trivial remedy for Mr. Merdle’s deep “complaint” highlights Society’s inability to see the moral sickness behind his financial success.

19. What was Pancks’s motive for inquiring about the Dorrit family?

A. To expose Mr Casby
B. To gain money
C. Desiring to serve young person, name of Dorrit
D. To help Arthur Clennam

C. Desiring to serve young person, name of Dorrit.

Pancks’s investigation is not for personal gain but is driven by a genuine desire to help Little Dorrit, whose goodness he recognizes.

20. Who did Mr Meagles reveal Pet was inclined towards?

A. Arthur Clennam
B. Henry Gowan
C. Edmund Sparkler
D. Young John Chivery

B. Henry Gowan.

Pet’s infatuation with the cynical and lazy artist Henry Gowan is a source of great sorrow for her parents and for Arthur.

21. What was the result that Pancks revealed regarding William Dorrit?

A. That Arthur was ruined
B. That man (William Dorrit) is rich and entitled to an inheritance
C. That the Circumlocution Office was wrong
D. That he had lost the papers

B. That man (William Dorrit) is rich and entitled to an inheritance.

This is the novel’s major turning point, as Pancks announces the discovery that William Dorrit is the heir to a vast fortune.

22. What did Little Dorrit cry out before she swooned upon hearing the news of her father’s fortune?

A. O, Mr Clennam!
B. Father! Father! Father!
C. Thank Heaven!
D. I am rich!

B. Father! Father! Father!.

Little Dorrit’s first thought is not of the wealth but of her father’s freedom, showing her selfless devotion.

23. What did Mrs General say was advisable for forming a demeanour?

A. Papa, potatoes, poultry, prunes, and prism
B. Reading, writing, and arithmetic
C. Work, silence, and prayer
D. Elegance, grace, and beauty

A. Papa, potatoes, poultry, prunes, and prism.

This is Mrs. General’s famous method for achieving a prim and proper mouth shape, symbolizing her superficial and repressive approach to “forming” a lady’s character.

24. Why did Mr Dorrit claim Little Dorrit “habitually hurt” him?

A. She was too silent
B. She argued with Fanny
C. She constantly revived the painful topic of his past
D. She wore shabby clothes

C. She constantly revived the painful topic of his past.

Once free, Mr. Dorrit cannot escape the “prison of his mind” and resents Amy for being a living reminder of his shameful past.

25. What did Fanny admit she intended to make of Mr Sparkler?

A. Her husband
B. Her friend
C. A slave
D. Her rival

C. A slave.

Fanny’s ambition is to dominate society through marriage, intending to use the dull-witted Edmund Sparkler to spite his snobbish mother, Mrs. Merdle.

26. Who was Flora Finching trying to find, whom she thought Mr Dorrit might see in Italy?

A. Arthur Clennam
B. Miss Wade
C. Mr Blandois
D. Mr Rugg

C. Mr Blandois.

This marks the re-entry of the villain Rigaud, now using the alias Blandois, into the main storyline in Italy.

27. What London landmark was Mr Dorrit worried about passing on his way out of London?

A. London Bridge
B. Waterloo Bridge
C. The Marshalsea
D. St Paul’s

C. The Marshalsea.

Even on his grand tour, Mr. Dorrit is terrified of his past, revealing how his psychological imprisonment continues despite his physical freedom.

28. What name did Mr Dorrit call himself as he confusedly welcomed guests to Mrs Merdle’s dinner table?

A. Mr Merdle
B. The Count
C. Father of the Marshalsea
D. The Great Financier

C. Father of the Marshalsea.

At the height of his social success, Mr. Dorrit’s mind collapses, and he reverts to his identity as the “Father of the Marshalsea,” exposing the fragility of his new life.

29. What did Mrs Merdle write on a scrap of paper for Little Dorrit during the dinner?

A. Your father is drunk
B. Pray come and speak to Mr Dorrit, I doubt if he is well
C. The Marshalsea is waiting
D. Clennam is here

B. Pray come and speak to Mr Dorrit, I doubt if he is well.

Mrs. Merdle’s note shows the society hostess’s panic as the decorum of her dinner party is shattered by Dorrit’s breakdown.

30. What did Cavalletto whisper Blandois was?

A. A swindler
B. A thief
C. An Assassin
D. A gambler

C. An Assassin.

Cavalletto’s terrified recognition of Blandois as the murderer Rigaud confirms the villain’s true nature to Arthur Clennam.

31. What honour was Mr Merdle rumored to have his golden face set against?

A. A peerage
B. A baronetcy
C. A knighthood
D. A life position

B. A baronetcy.

The rumor that Society wishes to honor the fraudulent financier Mr. Merdle with a title is a scathing critique of its worship of wealth above all else.

32. What did the Chief Butler say about Mr Merdle after his death was revealed?

A. Sir, Mr Merdle never was the gentleman
B. He was a great loss
C. He was a genius
D. He owed me money

A. Sir, Mr Merdle never was the gentleman.

The butler’s verdict after Merdle’s suicide reveals the “below stairs” perspective, which saw through the facade of gentility that fooled all of “Society.”

33. What happened to Mr Merdle’s reputation as the day declined after the crash?

A. It was upheld as a tragedy
B. It was revealed he was a low, ignorant fellow and rascal
C. It was defended by the Barnacles
D. It was quietly forgotten

B. It was revealed he was a low, ignorant fellow and rascal.

Once the fraud is exposed, Society, which had revered Merdle, instantly turns on him, revealing its own hypocrisy.

34. What prison did Mr Rugg advise Clennam should choose, rather than the Marshalsea?

A. The King’s Bench
B. The Fleet
C. Newgate
D. The Tower

A. The King’s Bench.

Arthur rejects the more “fashionable” debtors’ prison, choosing to go to the Marshalsea, the place so tied to Little Dorrit’s life.

35. What was the first change of feeling Clennam experienced upon arrival at the Marshalsea?

A. Deep terror
B. Unnatural peace
C. Frustration
D. Anger

B. Unnatural peace.

Imprisonment brings Arthur a strange sense of relief, as it ends his struggle and striving in a world he never felt a part of.

36. What did Young John eventually reveal Little Dorrit had shown the witnesses (the walls, window, yard)?

A. Her misery
B. Her determination
C. Miss Dorrit’s love
D. Her father’s pride

C. Miss Dorrit’s love.

The lovesick John Chivery poetically explains that Little Dorrit’s secret love for Arthur was plain for all to see within the prison walls.

37. What was the message Little Dorrit gave John Chivery to deliver to Arthur?

A. “That she would visit soon”
B. “That his Little Dorrit sent him her undying love”
C. “That he must be brave”
D. “That she was married”

B. “That his Little Dorrit sent him her undying love”.

Amy’s message, delivered by her disappointed suitor John Chivery, marks the moment she openly declares her love for the imprisoned Arthur.

38. What was the message on the paper inside Arthur’s deceased father’s watch?

A. Love forever
B. Do not forget
C. Find the truth
D. Forgive me

B. Do not forget.

This message, found in the watch, was Arthur’s real mother’s plea to his father, which Mrs. Clennam suppressed.

39. What was the final act of treachery revealed by Jeremiah Flintwinch?

A. He gave the papers to Rigaud
B. He stole the family fortune
C. He married Affery against Mrs Clennam’s will
D. He swapped the codicil for a duplicate and burned the duplicate

D. He swapped the codicil for a duplicate and burned the duplicate.

Flintwinch reveals his ultimate betrayal: he kept the true codicil that left a bequest to Little Dorrit’s family and gave Mrs. Clennam a fake to burn.

40. What was the nature of the first great petition Little Dorrit’s old mistress made to her?

A. To help pay Rigaud
B. Not to disclose the secret to Arthur until she was dead
C. To marry Tip
D. To live at the Marshalsea

B. Not to disclose the secret to Arthur until she was dead.

Mrs. Clennam confesses the entire secret to Amy but begs her not to reveal Arthur’s true parentage to him, wanting to maintain her role as his mother until her death.

41. When Mrs Clennam came to Little Dorrit in the Marshalsea, what power did she exhibit?

A. New power of Movement
B. Great physical strength
C. Uncanny knowledge of the future
D. The ability to disappear

A. New power of Movement.

In her desperate rush to the Marshalsea, the crippled Mrs. Clennam miraculously rises and walks, a dramatic event preceding the collapse of her house.

42. What was Little Dorrit doing for Clennam while he was ill in the Marshalsea?

A. Sending him money
B. Thinking, working, and watching him
C. Arguing with Fanny
D. Organizing his accounts

B. Thinking, working, and watching him.

Having lost her fortune, Little Dorrit returns to the prison to nurse Arthur back to health, resuming her role as a selfless caregiver.

43. Who did Mr Meagles and Mother go abroad to bring back?

A. Tattycoram
B. Arthur Clennam
C. Daniel Doyce
D. Pet Gowan

C. Daniel Doyce.

Doyce, having achieved fame and fortune abroad for the inventions England ignored, returns to rescue his partner Arthur from debt and despair.

44. What did Mr Meagles say Doyce must hide under lock and key when he comes to England?

A. His new wealth
B. His foreign medals and distinctions
C. His inventions
D. His tools

B. His foreign medals and distinctions.

This is a satirical comment on English pride; Doyce’s success abroad would be seen as an insult to the Circumlocution Office that rejected him.

45. What did Little Dorrit ask Arthur to do with the folded paper (the secret)?

A. Read it carefully
B. Keep it safe
C. Put it in the fire and say “I love you!”
D. Return it to Mrs Clennam

C. Put it in the fire and say “I love you!”.

Little Dorrit chooses to destroy the papers proving her inheritance, prioritizing Arthur’s peace of mind and their future love over wealth tied to a painful past.

46. What did Pancks aim a blow at on the Patriarch’s head during his denunciation?

A. His white locks
B. The bumpy head
C. His pocket
D. His nose

B. The bumpy head.

In a moment of comic justice, Pancks exposes the hypocrisy of the landlord Mr. Casby and physically cuts off his false “patriarchal” hair.

47. Who did Fanny marry?

A. Henry Gowan
B. Arthur Clennam
C. Edmund Sparkler
D. Young John Chivery

C. Edmund Sparkler.

Fanny achieves her social ambition by marrying the wealthy but foolish Edmund Sparkler, becoming a leader in fashionable society.

48. Who was the “Father of the Marshalsea” before coming into his fortune?

A. Frederick Dorrit
B. Arthur Clennam
C. William Dorrit
D. Tip Dorrit

C. William Dorrit.

As the longest-serving inmate, William Dorrit held the respected, albeit tragic, title of “Father of the Marshalsea.”

49. What characteristic was often associated with Mr Casby?

A. His honesty
B. His smooth face and white hair
C. His sharp business sense
D. His aggressive temper

B. His smooth face and white hair.

Mr. Casby’s benevolent, patriarchal appearance is a complete facade, hiding his true nature as a greedy and heartless slum landlord.

50. How did the Circumlocution Office handle Doyce’s matter after referring it to three Barnacles and a Stiltstalking?

A. Shelved the business
B. Approved the patent
C. Funded the project
D. Promoted Doyce

A. Shelved the business.

This is a prime example of “How Not to Do It”; Doyce’s valuable invention was endlessly passed around and ultimately ignored by the bureaucracy.