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.

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 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, 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
Publishing novels in cheap monthly parts 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.

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 happy 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.

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 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 the novel.

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 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 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.

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 age 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 wishing for a private burial, he received a national honor 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 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 vividly and compassionately portrayed 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 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 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’s release.

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 love for the charming but childish Dora mirrors Dickens’s frustrating early romance.

47. 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.

48. 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 used the story of a poor orphan to criticize social institutions like the workhouse.

49. 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.

50. 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
Publishing novels in cheap monthly parts made them accessible to a huge audience.

Bleak House MCQs

1. The weather described in Chapter 1 during Michaelmas Term is what kind of weather?

A. Sunny and clear
B. Implacable November weather
C. Cold and dry
D. Spring-like

B. Implacable November weather.
The implacable November weather sets the novel’s gloomy tone, reflecting the stagnant Court of Chancery.

2. What large creature might one expect to meet waddling up Holborn Hill due to the weather?

A. An elephant
B. A Mastodon
C. A Megalosaurus
D. A Hippopotamus

C. A Megalosaurus.
The Megalosaurus reference satirizes the slow, archaic nature of the Court of Chancery.

3. The High Court of Chancery is referred to as “most pestilent of hoary sinners” holding what kind of condition?

A. Wealthy and grand
B. Groping and floundering
C. Just and fair
D. Decaying and empty

B. Groping and floundering.
The Court is described as groping and floundering, highlighting the chaos and confusion that ruin its suitors.

4. What warning do honorable practitioners give regarding coming to the Court of Chancery?

A. Hire the best counsel
B. Suffer any wrong rather than come here
C. Be patient
D. Bring copious documents

B. Suffer any wrong rather than come here.
This highlights the destructive power of the legal system, which consumes all who enter.

5. What is the name of the endless cause currently “in hand” in Chancery?

A. Dedlock v. Boythorn
B. Krook v. Nemo
C. The Great Seal Case
D. Jarndyce and Jarndyce

D. Jarndyce and Jarndyce.
This central lawsuit represents the legal system’s paralyzing inefficiency and self-perpetuating nature.

6. Who is always present in court, expecting an incomprehensible judgment?

A. A sallow prisoner
B. The man from Shorpshire
C. A little mad old woman in a squeezed bonnet
D. Miss Barbary

C. A little mad old woman in a squeezed bonnet.
The mad old woman is Miss Flite, a victim driven insáne by her long wait for a judgment.

7. What happened to old Tom Jarndyce in despair over the suit?

A. He died of sickness
B. He blew his brains out at a coffee-house in Chancery Lane
C. He ran away
D. He went into bankruptcy

B. He blew his brains out at a coffee-house in Chancery Lane.
His suicide shows the tragic, destructive human cost of the endless legal delays.

8. When the Chancellor says he will see “both the young people,” what two people are referred to?

A. Richard Carstone and Ada Clare
B. Esther Summerson and Ada Clare
C. Richard Carstone and Esther Summerson
D. Mr Tangle’s friends

A. Richard Carstone and Ada Clare.
Richard and Ada are the young wards of the court, hopeful suitors destined to be affected by the suit.

9. Mr Tulkinghorn’s dress expresses him as the steward of legal mysteries or the butler of what?

A. The legal cellar
B. Chesney Wold
C. The Dedlock fortunes
D. The court

A. The legal cellar.
This suggests Tulkinghorn controls the secret, dark knowledge that Chancery and high society holds.

10. Sir Leicester Dedlock regards the Court of Chancery as something devised by the perfection of human wisdom for what purpose?

A. The eternal settlement of every thing
B. His personal status
C. The continuation of the Dedlock name
D. Avoiding Wat Tyler

A. The eternal settlement of every thing.
Sir Leicester’s view shows his deep, conservative reverence for antiquated and flawed institutions.

11. What interrupts Mr Tulkinghorn’s reading of the court document?

A. Lady Dedlock’s request to skip formalities
B. Sir Leicester dosing
C. Lady Dedlock’s swoon
D. Lady Dedlock asking who copied the papers

D. Lady Dedlock asking who copied the papers.
Lady Dedlock’s sudden question about the handwriting is the first clue to her hidden, secret past.

12. What is the estimated aggregate amount of costs in Jarndyce and Jarndyce?

A. From twenty to thirty thousand pounds
B. From sixty to seventy thousand pounds
C. Over one hundred thousand pounds
D. Five thousand pounds

B. From sixty to seventy thousand pounds.
The immense cost highlights the legal corruption, as the lawsuit has consumed the entire estate.

13. From whom does the receiver in the cause acquire distrust and contempt?

A. His own kind and his own mother
B. The solicitors
C. The suitors
D. The court

A. His own kind and his own mother.
The suit’s moral decay is so complete it causes people to distrust even their own families.

14. Who is the mild bald gentleman in spectacles who drops into dinner at Mrs Jellyby’s house?

A. Mr Quale
B. Mr Kenge
C. Mr Jellyby
D. Richard Carstone

C. Mr Jellyby.
Mr. Jellyby is the silent, defeated husband of Mrs. Jellyby, completely neglected due to her obsessive philanthropy.

15. Caddy Jellyby suddenly say she wished was dead?

A. Borrioboola-Gha
B. Africa
C. Her mother
D. Philanthropy

B. Africa.
Caddy wishes Africa were dead because her mother’s obsessive focus on it has ruined their home life.

16. What kind of shop had legal inscriptions written in law-hand among the prices for rags and bottles?

A. Mr Snagsby’s
B. Mr Krook’s
C. Coavinses
D. Mr Tulkinghorn’s

B. Mr Krook’s.
Mr. Krook’s rag and bottle shop is symbolic of Chancery itself: a chaotic repository of decay.

17. What was written on the inscription advertising a respectable man wanting engrossing or copying work?

A. Address to Mr Snagsby
B. Address to Nemo, care of Mr Krook within
C. Law Books, all at 9d
D. Marine Stores

B. Address to Nemo, care of Mr Krook within.
The inscription points to Nemo, the law-writer, linking the mystery of the deceased man to Krook’s shop.

18. What is the name of the old lady who keeps birds in the garret?

A. Mrs Snagsby
B. Miss Flite
C. Mrs Jellyby
D. Miss Barbary

B. Miss Flite.
Miss Flite keeps caged birds, symbolizing the suitors trapped by the Court of Chancery.

19. What word does Richard say is “a weary word”?

A. London
B. Adventure
C. Chancery
D. Costs

C. Chancery.
This signals Richard’s initial disillusionment with the suit that will eventually consume and destroy him.

20. What is the name of Mr Skimpole’s steward, according to his philosophy?

A. Ada
B. Richard
C. Jarndyce
D. The World

C. Jarndyce.
Skimpole calls Mr. Jarndyce his steward, showing his selfish, childlike philosophy of living off others’ wealth.

21. What is the name of the man who comes to arrest Mr Skimpole?

A. Mr Tulkinghorn
B. Mr Tangle
C. Coavinses
D. Mr Kenge

C. Coavinses.
Coavinses’s arrest of Skimpole highlights his complete financial irresponsibility and parasitic nature.

22. Who is mentioned as a mother who had two sons, one who ran wild and one who constructed steam-engines?

A. Mrs Jellyby
B. Mrs Snagsby
C. Mrs Rouncewell
D. Mrs Bagnet

C. Mrs Rouncewell.
Mrs. Rouncewell’s sons contrast the old aristocracy (via her wild son) with the new industrial power.

23. Sir Leicester Dedlock sees Mrs Rouncewell’s second son (the ironmaster) as one of a body of conspirators who do what?

A. Turn out by torchlight, for unlawful purposes
B. Practice law
C. Seek election to Parliament
D. Engage in philanthropy

A. Turn out by torchlight, for unlawful purposes.
Sir Leicester’s view shows the old aristocracy’s páranoid fear of the rising, powerful industrial class.

24. The housekeeper says the family greatness of the Dedlocks consists in their never having done anything to distinguish themselves for how long?

A. Since the Conquest
B. For seven hundred years
C. In modern times
D. For a century

B. For seven hundred years.
This satirizes the arrogance of an aristocracy whose only claim to greatness is ancient, useless lineage.

25. What did the man on the floor, whom Mrs Pardiggle visited, accuse his wife of when asked about her black eye?

A. Giving it to herself
B. Having been in a brawl
C. Being a Lie if she denied he gave it her
D. Falling down

C. Being a Lie if she denied he gave it her.
This brutal denial reveals the misery and violence hidden by Mrs. Pardiggle’s intrusive “charity.”

26. What phrase does Jo sum up his mental condition with?

A. That he ‘don’t know nothink’
B. That he is unfortunate
C. That he is wicked
D. That he is homeless

A. That he ‘don’t know nothink’.
Jo’s phrase sums up his deep ignorance, highlighting his complete social neglect and lack of education.

27. Mr Boythorn says he would have bought what animal to loose upon the first encroaching robber?

A. A dog
B. A lion
C. A wolf
D. A bull-dog

B. A lion.
Mr. Boythorn’s wish for a lion illustrates his exaggerated rage and constant defiance toward Sir Leicester.

28. What is the name of the couple who are the expected guests at Mr Snagsby’s house?

A. Mr and Mrs Guppy
B. Mr and Mrs Tangle
C. Mr and Mrs Chadband
D. Mr and Mrs Bogsby

C. Mr and Mrs Chadband.
Mr. Chadband is a hypocritical, verbose preacher who exploits piety for his own gain.

29. What is the main product resulting from Mr Chadband’s heavy consumption of food and drink?

A. Verbose speech
B. A feeling of contentment
C. Oil of a certain quality
D. Spiritual profit

C. Oil of a certain quality.
This satirizes his greasy, meaningless, and self-serving sermons, which he produces after being well-fed.

30. Who cross-examines Jo regarding the sovereign he received from the veiled lady?

A. Mr Snagsby
B. Mr Chadband
C. Mr Guppy
D. The constable

C. Mr Guppy.
Mr. Guppy is obsessed with uncovering Lady Dedlock’s secret for his own professional gain.

31. What is the name of the detective officer Mr Tulkinghorn introduces to Mr Snagsby?

A. Mr Snagsby
B. Mr Mooney
C. Mr Tangle
D. Mr Bucket

D. Mr Bucket.
Mr. Bucket is the highly competent detective who is the primary agent in resolving the murder mystery.

32. What affliction did Caddy Jellyby’s daughter ultimately suffer from?

A. Blindness
B. Inky fingers
C. Deaf and dúmb
D. Fits

C. Deaf and dúmb.
This tragic affliction symbolizes the terrible neglect and communication failure in the Jellyby home.

33. The law-writer Nemo died from too much of what substance?

A. Alcohol
B. Opium
C. Poison
D. Cholera

B. Opium.
Nemo’s (Captain Hawdon’s) opium overdose highlights the desperate poverty and self-medication of the urban póor.

34. Mr Snagsby compares Krook’s burning body to what phenomenon, though the idea disconcerts him?

A. An explosion
B. Spontaneous combustion
C. A dreadful mystery
D. A dreadful accident

B. Spontaneous combustion.
Krook’s bizarre death symbolizes the spontaneous corruption and self-destruction inherent in the Court of Chancery.

35. What does Tony Weevle/Jobling confess about Krook’s reading ability?

A. He is too old and too drunk to acquire the knack of reading
B. He reads very well
C. He reads only law books
D. He only reads by night

A. He is too old and too drunk to acquire the knack of reading.
This reveals the irony of the keeper of legal documents (the “Lord Chancellor”) being illiterate.

36. What were the papers Mr Guppy intended to bring to Lady Dedlock?

A. Old letters
B. New affidavits
C. Warrants
D. Bills of mortality

A. Old letters.
The letters were old, personal documents relating to Lady Dedlock’s connection with Captain Hawdon (Nemo).

37. Mr Vholes insists he cannot be selfish because he must maintain his daughters and what other relative?

A. A dear grandmother
B. An aged father in the Vale of Taunton
C. His wife
D. His cousin

B. An aged father in the Vale of Taunton.
Vholes uses his “aged father” as a hypocritical justification for exploiting his clients, especially Richard.

38. Mr George describes Mr Tulkinghorn as what kind of man?

A. A confoundedly bad kind of man, slow-torturing
B. A fine old soldier
C. A legal genius
D. A man of great generosity

A. A confoundedly bad kind of man, slow-torturing.
This description perfectly captures the lawyer’s cold, methodical cruelty and his use of psychological torment.

39. What two words were written on the anonymous letters received by Mr Bucket?

A. Tulkinghorn murdered
B. Lady Dedlock
C. George Rousewell
D. Find her

B. Lady Dedlock.
These anonymous letters, written by Mademoiselle Hortense, drive the tension and the murder investigation forward.

40. What specific words were written on the letter directed to Sir Leicester, intercepted by Mr Bucket?

A. Lady Dedlock
B. Lady Dedlock, murderess
C. Guilty
D. Forgiveness

B. Lady Dedlock, murderess.
This is the core revelation of the mystery and the climax of Tulkinghorn’s (and Hortense’s) plot.

41. How did Mr Bucket say he originally acquired the information leading to Jo/Toughey?

A. By following Kenge and Carboy
B. By throwing a morsel of gravel at Harold Skimpole’s window
C. By listening to Mr Jarndyce
D. By questioning the beadle

B. By throwing a morsel of gravel at Harold Skimpole’s window.
This shows Skimpole’s casual betrayal of Jo (and Jarndyce) for a small sum of money.

42. Who does Mr Bucket say was Krook’s own brother?

A. Mr Tulkinghorn
B. Captain Hawdon
C. A brimstone magpie (Mrs Smallweed)
D. Mr George

C. A brimstone magpie (Mrs Smallweed).
The revelation that Mrs. Smallweed was Krook’s sister adds another grotesque family complication to the mystery.

43. Why does Sir Leicester keep Volumnia at his bedside?

A. To entertain him
B. To read to him
C. To prevent her talking somewhere else
D. To comfort him

C. To prevent her talking somewhere else.
This shows Sir Leicester’s obsession with appearances and controlling the narrative, even after his stroke.

44. What did the man on the floor, whom Mrs Pardiggle visited, accuse his wife of when asked about her black eye?

A. Giving it to herself
B. Having been in a brawl
C. Being a Lie if she denied he gave it her
D. Falling down

C. Being a Lie if she denied he gave it her.
This brutal denial reveals the true misery and domestic violence hidden by Mrs. Pardiggle’s intrusive charity.

45. What is the name of the woman who raised Esther Summerson?

A. Mrs. Jellyby
B. Mrs. Rouncewell
C. Miss Flite
D. Miss Barbary

D. Miss Barbary.
Miss Barbary, who is later revealed to be Lady Dedlock’s sister, raised Esther with cold severity.

46. What secret does Miss Barbary reveal to Esther on her deathbed?

A. That Esther is her mother
B. That Esther’s mother was her sister
C. That Esther’s mother was a disgrace
D. That Esther has a twin sister

C. That Esther’s mother was a disgrace.
Miss Barbary’s dying words, “Your mother, Esther, is your disgrace,” haunt Esther’s childhood.

47. What object does Esther find at Krook’s shop that matches the handwriting in the Jarndyce papers?

A. A letter
B. A will
C. A small placard with “Nemo” on it
D. A diary

C. A small placard with “Nemo” on it.
Esther recognizes the “Nemo” (No-one) handwriting as the same as the legal documents, deepening the mystery.

48. What illness does Esther contract from Jo the crossing-sweeper?

A. Tuberculosis
B. Smallpox
C. Cholera
D. Influenza

B. Smallpox.
Esther’s selfless care for Jo results in her contracting smallpox, which permanently scars her face.

49. Who is finally revealed to be Esther’s mother?

A. Miss Flite
B. Mrs. Rouncewell
C. Mademoiselle Hortense
D. Lady Dedlock

D. Lady Dedlock.
The central mystery reveals that Esther’s mother is the cold, proud Lady Dedlock, and her father is Nemo (Captain Hawdon).

50. What is the final outcome of the Jarndyce and Jarndyce lawsuit?

A. Richard and Ada win the entire estate.
B. The estate is divided equally among all suitors.
C. Legal costs consume the entire estate.
D. Sir Leicester Dedlock inherits everything.

C. Legal costs consume the entire estate.
In the end, the lawsuit that destroyed so many lives concludes because no money is left to fight over.

Brief Overview

Bleak House is one of Charles Dickens‘ most complex novels. It tells two separate stories that slowly come together.

The first story is about a famous court case called Jarndyce and Jarndyce. The case has been in the slow, broken legal system for many years. It wastes the money and destroys the hopes of everyone involved.

The main characters in this plot are Richard Carstone and Ada Clare. They are related to the case and live with their kind guardian, John Jarndyce.

The second story is a mystery told by Esther Summerson. She is a kind orphan who doesn’t know who her parents are. She moves in to live with John Jarndyce as his companion.

This plot involves the rich and powerful Lady Dedlock. She seems cold and bored but hides a huge secret from her past. A ruthless lawyer, Mr. Tulkinghorn, suspects her secret and tries to expose her.

This leads to blackmail, desperation, and eventually murder. A famous detective, Inspector Bucket, is called in to solve the crime. The novel shows how Esther’s hidden past connects the rich Lady Dedlock to the póor and the failing court case.