H.E. Bates

H.E. Bates Study questions

The Woman Who Had Imagination

The Ox

Facts about H.E. Bates

➾ His “solitary ambition” while attending grammar school was to become a painter, not a writer.

➾ He acquired techniques for the short story by “voraciously reading” Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Wallace.

➾ He credited Stephen Crane, not a mainstream literary figure, with inspiring his first conscious hunger to write.

➾ He qualified for university but was unable to attend because his family could not afford the expense.

➾ He intensely disliked his first post-school job working for a newspaper.

➾ He wrote his first novel, The Two Sisters, while working as a clerk in a factory/warehouse.

➾ He was fired from his clerk job after his employer discovered him writing his first novel during work hours.

➾ During World War II, he served as a commissioned writer for the RAF under the pseudonym Flying Officer “X”.

➾ The character Uncle Silas, known for “earthy, Rabelaisian humour,” was based on his real-life ninety-three-year-old great-uncle.

➾ After achieving novel success, he made a vow that he would “never, never write another novel,” which he soon forgot.

➾ He returned to short fiction with The Daffodil Sky (1955), the collection he apparently valued the most.

H.E. Bates MCQs

1. When was H.E. Bates born?

A) January 29, 1974
B) May 16, 1905
C) October 5, 1900
D) July 10, 1915

B) May 16, 1905
Herbert Ernest Bates was born in Rushden, Northamptonshire, at the beginning of the 20th century.

2. Where was H.E. Bates born?

A) Canterbury, England
B) Little Chart, England
C) Rushden, England
D) Kettering, England

C) Rushden, England
He was born in the industrial town of Rushden, Northamptonshire, which shaped his early work.

3. What was the title of H.E. Bates’s first novel, published when he was twenty?

A) Day’s End
B) My Uncle Silas
C) The Purple Plain
D) The Two Sisters

D) The Two Sisters
He wrote this first novel in 1926 while working as a clerk, launching his literary career.

4. Which collection of short stories was published posthumously?

A) The Wedding Party
B) The Daffodil Sky
C) The Yellow Meads of Asphodel
D) Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal

C) The Yellow Meads of Asphodel
This collection was published in 1976, two years after his death, completing his literary output.

5. For which specific type of fiction is H.E. Bates established as one of the major 20th-century writers?

A) Historical romance
B) Science fiction
C) Short fiction
D) Detective thrillers

C) Short fiction
Alongside his novels, he is celebrated as one of the 20th century’s masters of the short story.

6. What was Bates’s solitary ambition while attending grammar school in Kettering?

A) To become a teacher
B) To become a journalist
C) To become a painter
D) To become an athlete

C) To become a painter
His first ambition was to be a painter, a passion that influenced his descriptive writing style.

7. Which author inspired Bates’s “first conscious hunger to begin writing”?

A) Guy de Maupassant
B) Stephen Crane
C) Joseph Conrad
D) Ivan Turgenev

B) Stephen Crane
Reading Crane’s work sparked his ambition to become a writer, not just a painter.

8. Which famous British authors were Bates “voraciously reading” early in school, influencing his short story methods?

A) Doyle and Wallace
B) Dickens and Austen
C) Wells and Huxley
D) Kipling and Orwell

A) Doyle and Wallace
He was an early reader of popular short story writers like Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Wallace.

9. Why did Bates not attend university after qualifying?

A) He was commissioned in the RAF
B) His family could not afford it
C) He disliked formal education
D) He chose professional athletics

B) His family could not afford it
Despite qualifying, his family’s financial situation prevented him from pursuing a university education.

10. What job did Bates hold when he began writing his first novel, The Two Sisters?

A) A newspaper reporter
B) A clerk in a Rushden factory
C) A soldier in the RAF
D) A warehouse labourer

B) A clerk in a Rushden factory
He wrote his first novel in the early mornings before his job as a warehouse clerk.

11. The region Bates grew up in, the Nene Valley in Northamptonshire, provided what for his fiction?

A) Military background
B) Science fiction elements
C) Subject, setting, and themes
D) Only historical facts

C) Subject, setting, and themes
His deep connection to the Midland countryside provided the core material for much of his writing.

12. The transitional period Bates grew up in often mirrored which contrast in his stories?

A) Rich versus poor
B) Rural versus urban values
C) Past versus future
D) English versus French life

B) Rural versus urban values
His work often explores the tension between the traditional rural world and encroaching industrial life.

13. What clashing elements in the Midlands provided themes for Bates’s early work?

A) Crime and punishment
B) Industry and natural beauty
C) Education and ignorance
D) High society and low society

B) Industry and natural beauty
The contrast between the ugly industrial towns and the beautiful countryside marks his early stories.

14. What was the title of Bates’s second collection of short stories, published in 1928?

A) The Watercress Girl
B) The Flying Goat
C) Day’s End, and Other Stories
D) The Daffodil Sky

C) Day’s End, and Other Stories
This 1928 collection helped to solidify his early reputation as a master of the short story.

15. When did H.E. Bates marry Marjorie Helen Cox?

A) 1926
B) 1931
C) 1941
D) 1958

B) 1931
He married Marjorie, whom he had met in 1929, and they moved to Kent.

16. What English county did Bates move to after marrying, where he lived until his death?

A) Northamptonshire
B) Lancashire
C) Kent
D) Surrey

C) Kent
He and his wife settled in Little Chart, Kent, which became his home for the rest of his life.

17. What genre did Bates publish eight collections of during the 1930s?

A) Novels
B) Plays
C) Short fiction
D) Poetry

C) Short fiction
The 1930s were a highly productive decade for his short fiction, establishing his focus on rural life.

18. Bates initially became well known for writing about which subjects, especially after The Poacher (1935)?

A) War and aviation
B) Countryside and agricultural labour
C) Exótic foreign lands
D) Urban industrial life

B) Countryside and agricultural labour
His pre-war reputation was built on his sensitive portrayals of English rural life.

19. From whom did Bates acquire his appreciation for rural English life?

A) His grandfather and father
B) His teachers at Kettering
C) Fellow RAF officers
D) Contemporary critics

A) His grandfather and father
His father and grandfather, both countrymen, instilled in him a deep love for the rural world.

20. Which collection, published in 1940, was enjoyed for its “earthy, Rabelaisian humour”?

A) The Two Sisters
B) The Daffodil Sky
C) The Poacher
D) My Uncle Silas

D) My Uncle Silas
This collection introduced the roguish character Uncle Silas, known for his tall tales and earthy humor.

21. On whom was the character Uncle Silas, a ninety-three-year-old rascal, based?

A) The author’s grandfather
B) A factory owner
C) The author’s great-uncle
D) A fictional archetype

C) The author’s great-uncle
The character was based on his great-uncle Joseph Betts, who was a charming, roguish figure.

22. World War II significantly increased Bates’s fame starting in which year?

A) 1931
B) 1941
C) 1955
D) 1969

B) 1941
His career was transformed when he was commissioned into the Royal Air Force in 1941.

23. What role did Bates assume in the summer of 1941?

A) Foreign correspondent
B) Reporter for the Northampton Chronicle
C) Writer in the Royal Air Force
D) Civilian war observer

C) Writer in the Royal Air Force
He was commissioned to write short stories about the war effort, which gave him great fame.

24. Under which pseudonym did H.E. Bates publish two small collections of war pieces?

A) Corporal X
B) Sergeant Smith
C) Flying Officer “X”
D) Major Bates

C) Flying Officer “X”
He used this pseudonym to publish his RAF stories, giving them an air of authenticity.

25. The collections published as Flying Officer “X” are described as being as much fiction as what else?

A) Biography
B) Memoir
C) Reportage
D) Philosophy

C) Reportage
The stories blurred the line between fictional storytelling and factual wartime journalism.

26. Which Flying Officer “X” collection conveyed the feeling of wartime flying?

A) The Jacaranda Tree
B) Fair Stood the Wind for France
C) The Greatest People in the World
D) The Triple Echo

C) The Greatest People in the World
This collection, along with *How Sleep the Brave*, captured the experience of the RAF for the public.

27. The Flying Officer “X” pieces led to major success for Bates’s subsequent novels, marking what turning point in his career?

A) A shift to poetry
B) A decline in popularity
C) An international reputation
D) A focus on rural life

C) An international reputation
His wartime writing gave him a massive new audience and an international reputation.

28. Which novel became Bates’s first international success and an American Book-of-the-Month Club selection?

A) The Purple Plain
B) The Two Sisters
C) Fair Stood the Wind for France
D) The Darling Buds of May

C) Fair Stood the Wind for France
This 1944 novel about an RAF crew in occupied France became a major international bestseller.

29. Fair Stood the Wind for France is about a British bomber crew forced down in which situation?

A) The Burmese jungle
B) Occupied France
C) The English countryside
D) Coastal Ireland

B) Occupied France
The novel is a tense story of survival as the crew attempts to escape Nazi-occupied France.

30. Which novel was the first of Bates’s works to be adapted into a motion picture?

A) The Jacaranda Tree
B) The Purple Plain
C) The Two Sisters
D) Colonel Julian

B) The Purple Plain
His 1947 novel set in Burma was adapted into a successful 1954 film starring Gregory Peck.

31. Which two successful novels by Bates were set in Burma (Myanmar) during the Japanese invasion?

A) The Poacher and Day’s End
B) The Purple Plain and The Jacaranda Tree
C) Fair Stood the Wind for France and The Triple Echo
D) My Uncle Silas and The Nature of Love

B) The Purple Plain and The Jacaranda Tree
These two novels drew on his experiences in the Far East during the war.

32. What literary form did Bates temporarily abandon for several years after his WWII novel successes?

A) The novel
B) The short story
C) The essay
D) The autobiography

B) The short story
He focused on writing popular novels for several years, neglecting the short fiction he was famed for.

33. What vow did Bates make around 1951, which he soon forgot?

A) Never to write about war
B) Never to write another novel
C) Never to write another short story
D) Never to use a pseudonym

B) Never to write another novel
After focusing on novels for years, he vowed to stop, but soon returned to the form.

34. Bates returned to his “first love, the short story,” in 1955 with which impressive collection?

A) Colonel Julian
B) The Daffodil Sky
C) The Watercress Girl
D) The Flying Goat

B) The Daffodil Sky
This 1955 collection marked his celebrated return to the short story form after a long break.

35. Which short story collection was apparently the one which Bates valued the most?

A) The Flying Goat
B) The Yellow Meads of Asphodel
C) The Daffodil Sky
D) Colonel Julian

C) The Daffodil Sky
Despite many collections, Bates reportedly valued this 1955 collection the most highly.

36. The Watercress Girl, and Other Stories primarily concerns which subjects?

A) Life in the factory
B) Wartime flying
C) Children or childhood recollections
D) Rural agricultural work

C) Children or childhood recollections
This collection focused on the perceptions and experiences of childhood.

37. Following the success of the Larkin series, Bates devoted more energy to which form?

A) Short stories
B) Poetry
C) The novel
D) Reportage

C) The novel
The immense popularity of the Larkin books led him to focus more on novels in his later career.

38. Which novel launched the highly successful Larkin family series?

A) A Moment in Time
B) The Nature of Love
C) The Triple Echo
D) The Darling Buds of May

D) The Darling Buds of May
This 1958 novel introduced Pop and Ma Larkin and was an enormous commercial success.

39. The Larkin family in The Darling Buds of May is characterized as what type of family?

A) Aristocratic and severe
B) Realistic and lovable farm family
C) Struggling urban workers
D) Factory owners

B) Realistic and lovable farm family
The Larkins were a boisterous, lovable, and earthy family living an idyllic life in Kent.

40. In his postwar fiction, Bates developed consistently in which qualities as a novelist?

A) Action and speed
B) Suspense and mystery
C) Subtlety, depth, and strength
D) Humour and brevity

C) Subtlety, depth, and strength
Critics noted that his postwar work showed a greater maturity, depth, and subtlety.

41. Which collection demonstrates Bates’s range in the short story during the postwar period, published around 1955?

A) The Flying Goat
B) Colonel Julian
C) The Wild Cherry Tree
D) The Two Sisters

B) Colonel Julian
This collection, along with *The Daffodil Sky*, showcased his mastery of the short story form.

42. What characteristics define H.E. Bates’s general reputation?

A) War correspondent only
B) Playwright of industrial dramas
C) Novelist and short-story writer of high reputation
D) Historical biographer

C) Novelist and short-story writer of high reputation
He is widely regarded as a major 20th-century writer in both novels and short fiction.

43. Which title is listed as an autobiographical work by H.E. Bates?

A) The Vanished World
B) The Nature of Love
C) The Daffodil Sky
D) The Triple Echo

A) The Vanished World
*The Vanished World* (1969) is the first volume of his acclaimed three-part autobiography.

44. Which later autobiographical work retained Bates’s power to capture the mood of the passing moment?

A) The Purple Plain
B) The Blossoming World
C) Colonel Julian
D) The Yellow Meads of Asphodel

B) The Blossoming World
This second volume of his autobiography (1971) was praised for its evocative prose.

45. Which collection is described as the “least impressive” of Bates’s early collections, rounding out the 1930s?

A) My Uncle Silas
B) The Poacher
C) The Flying Goat
D) Day’s End

C) The Flying Goat
This 1939 collection is considered one of the weaker ones from his prolific 1930s period.

46. Bates wrote The Two Sisters at which location, which led to him being fired?

A) The newspaper office
B) The RAF base
C) The factory/warehouse
D) His grammar school

C) The factory/warehouse
He secretly wrote his first novel in the warehouse, and he was fired when his writing was discovered.

47. What type of humor characterized My Uncle Silas?

A) Dry, intellectual wit
B) Ironic, political satire
C) Earthy, Rabelaisian humour
D) Surreal, experimental comedy

C) Earthy, Rabelaisian humour
The stories are famous for their broad, “Rabelaisian” (boisterous and crude) humor.

48. What honour was H.E. Bates made shortly before his death?

A) Commander of the British Empire (CBE)
B) Knight Grand Cross
C) Officer of the British Empire (OBE)
D) Nobel Laureate

A) Commander of the British Empire (CBE)
He was made a CBE in 1973 for his services to literature.

49. In which year did H.E. Bates die?

A) 1905
B) 1955
C) 1974
D) 1971

C) 1974
He died on January 29, 1974, in Canterbury, Kent.

50. Where did H.E. Bates die?

A) Rushden
B) Little Chart
C) Kettering
D) Canterbury

D) Canterbury
He died in Canterbury, Kent, the county where he had lived for over 40 years.

Love for Lydia MCQs

1. What month did the Aspen sisters return to Evensford?

A. End of March
B. Late January
C. End of February
D. Early December

C. End of February.
The two sisters returned to Evensford at the end of February during a sudden fall of snow.

2. What replaced the river floods that January?

A. Black dry mud
B. Wide lakes of ice
C. Steaming wet soil
D. Deep green pools

B. Wide lakes of ice.
The January floods across the valley had frozen into wide lakes of hard, rectangular ice.

3. Where was the Narrator standing when the Daimler skidded?

A. The Temperance Hotel
B. Succoth chapel
C. The County Examiner
D. Johnson’s yard

C. The County Examiner.
The Narrator was standing inside the windows of The County Examiner (The Examiner) when the car skidded.

4. What piece of food was Bretherton eating for lunch?

A. Mauled pork pie
B. Fatty lamb chops
C. Several cold sausages
D. Thick bread loaf

A. Mauled pork pie.
The remains of Bretherton’s lunch on the table included several pieces of bread and a mauled pork pie.

5. What was Bretherton’s favourite insulting nickname for the Narrator?

A. Stùpid Boy
B. Stùpid Journalist
C. Clutterhead
D. Idiot Reporter

C. Clutterhead.
Bretherton called the narrator “Clutterhead” after soaking his lips in tea and before discussing the bazaar.

6. Why did Bretherton yell at the Narrator about suicide?

A. The narrator was depressed
B. The reporter missed a story
C. Bretherton attempted it
D. Lydia threatened it

B. The reporter missed a story.
A girl had leapt from a factory window, and the Narrator had negligently failed to discover details beforehand.

7. What was the Narrator doing the afternoon he missed the suicide story?

A. Skating recklessly
B. Working late
C. Nursing a fever
D. Writing up reports

A. Skating recklessly.
The Narrator admitted that he had sprained his wrist while skating that same afternoon.

8. What textile covered the windows of the Narrator’s home?

A. Dark velvet
B. Sheer silk
C. Drawn lace curtains
D. Thick brown burlap

C. Drawn lace curtains.
The Narrator’s family lived intensely respectable, constantly behind drawn lace curtains in their house.

9. What musical instrument did Joe Pendleton play?

A. The accordion
B. The violin
C. The euphonium
D. The piano

C. The euphonium.
Joe Pendleton, the neighbour, played the euphonium in the Rifle Band in the bedroom next door.

10. Evensford had grown from 800 people in 1820 to how many in 1880?

A. Fifty thousand
B. Ten thousand
C. Five thousand
D. Just two thousand

B. Ten thousand.
Evensford grew swiftly from 800 people in 1820 to ten thousand people in 1880.

11. What specific aroma hung on all Evensford streets?

A. Burning leather
B. Factory grease
C. River sewage
D. Wet charcoal

A. Burning leather.
Odours of burning leather, stoked by waste, hung on all Evensford streets in puthering clouds.

12. What was the only other house in Evensford comparable in size to the Aspen house?

A. The Town Hall
B. The Sanatorium
C. The Temperance Hotel
D. The Opera House

B. The Sanatorium.
The Sanatorium stood high up, almost within sight of the Aspen house, the only comparable size.

13. How was Miss Juliana eating her soup when the Narrator met her?

A. With small sips
B. With deep, broad sucks
C. Quickly and nervously
D. Stirring silently

B. With deep, broad sucks.
Juliana was eating soup from a basin, taking it in with deep, broad sucks from a spoon.

14. What physical trait made Juliana’s smile both ugly and attractive?

A. Crooked teeth
B. Missing lip
C. Long, fang-like teeth
D. Wide jaw

C. Long, fang-like teeth.
Juliana’s teeth were long, fang-like, and ugly, yet they made her attractive when she smiled spontaneously.

15. How old was Lydia when the Narrator first met her?

A. Nineteen
B. Eighteen
C. Twenty-one
D. Fifteen

A. Nineteen.
The Narrator was 19; Lydia was almost 20, but Juliana initially stated she was “Just Lydia’s age”.

16. What specific flowers did the Narrator notice in the Aspens’ room?

A. Red roses
B. Pale mauve hyacinths
C. Yellow daffodils
D. White lilies

B. Pale mauve hyacinths.
The Narrator noticed deep Chinese bowls of pale mauve and pink hyacinths in full flower.

17. What did Miss Bertie find refreshing about the young Narrator?

A. His candid ambition
B. His singing ability
C. His liking for flowers
D. His respectful manners

C. His liking for flowers.
Miss Bertie found his liking for flowers to be a “refreshing manifestation in a young man”.

18. Who was Captain Rollo Aspen?

A. Juliana’s son
B. Lydia’s father
C. Juliana’s brother
D. Bertie’s husband

C. Juliana’s brother.
Juliana introduced him to the Narrator as “my brother, Captain Rollo Aspen”.

19. How was Lydia dressed when the Narrator first met her?

A. A tight red suit
B. A low-waisted dress
C. A pale blue skirt
D. A velvet gown

B. A low-waisted dress.
Lydia was draped in a long, low-waisted dress that was too old for her, making her appear clumsy.

20. What location served as the Evensford police court?

A. Evensford Town Hall
B. Nenborough
C. The Aspens’ lodge
D. Old Succoth chapel

B. Nenborough.
Evensford did not have its own petty sessions; the court was located in Nenborough up the valley.

21. Where did Lydia and the Narrator go skating?

A. On the old marsh
B. The river valley
C. A frozen lake
D. The park pond

A. On the old marsh.
The narrator taught Lydia to skate on the marshes where the floodwater was frozen.

22. What color was the polo sweater Lydia wore under her cloak?

A. Black and white
B. Scarlet
C. Dark green
D. Pale blue

B. Scarlet.
When Lydia took off her cloak that afternoon, she was wearing an old scarlet polo sweater underneath.

23. What was the name of the gentle farmer’s son introduced on the ice?

A. Alex Holland
B. Harry Holland
C. Tom Holland
D. Joe Pendleton

C. Tom Holland.
Tom Holland was a big, gentle boy, a farmer’s son, introduced to Lydia while skating.

24. Who helped Lydia regain balance after she lost it while skating alone?

A. The Narrator
B. Tom Holland
C. Old Hoylake
D. Alex Sanderson

B. Tom Holland.
Tom caught her and held her with his large hands until she regained her balance on the ice.

25. What did Lydia compare Evensford to before she escaped her own confinement?

A. A dark well
B. A shabby prison
C. A gloomy school
D. A velvet cage

B. A shabby prison.
To the Narrator, Evensford was an ugly, shabby prison, a contrast to Lydia’s previous one.

26. What occupation was Lydia’s governess, Miss Crouch?

A. Music teacher
B. Fragile yes-woman
C. Stern disciplinarian
D. Skilled horse trainer

B. Fragile yes-woman.
Her father replaced the horses with a governess, Miss Crouch, described as a fragile yes-woman.

27. What did Lydia’s father send her upstairs to do on a hot summer afternoon?

A. Read books
B. Learn history
C. Rest
D. Practice piano

C. Rest.
When Lydia was seventeen, she was sent upstairs “exactly like a child, to rest”.

28. What was the Narrator’s new job that allowed him to meet Lydia in the summer-house?

A. Clerk to a factor
B. Accountant at the factory
C. Editor at Examiner
D. Assistant gardener

A. Clerk to a factor.
His father got him a clerk job for leather factor Arthur Sprague, done every day by four.

29. Where did Lydia and the Narrator often meet in the Aspen park?

A. The stables
B. The conservatory
C. The summer-house
D. The lodge

C. The summer-house.
Lydia and the Narrator were able to meet in the small two-storeyed summer-house almost every hot afternoon.

30. What material was the back of the car interior trimmed with?

A. Silk cord
B. Velvet rugs
C. Silver inlay
D. Gilt monograms

B. Velvet rugs.
When travelling, Old Johnson used thick chequered and velvety coach rugs to tuck them in.

31. Who was Rollo Aspen keeping in Corporation Street?

A. Flo Welch
B. Miss Crouch
C. Nancy Holland
D. Lydia’s mother

A. Flo Welch.
Lydia informed the Narrator that Rollo kept a woman named Flo Welch in Corporation Street.

32. What kind of shares did Rollo invest his money in?

A. Gold
B. Rubber
C. Textiles
D. Land

B. Rubber.
Rollo had put all his money into some wretched rubber shares, which failed, leaving him poor.

33. What item did the Narrator sell to buy Lydia’s garnet earrings?

A. His typewriter
B. His watch
C. His bicycle
D. His coat

C. His bicycle.
The Narrator sold his bicycle to afford the pair of garnet earrings set like soft dark raspberries.

34. What animal was Rollo compared to when he laughed about the love notes?

A. A braying camel
B. A dark dog
C. A spoiled child
D. A sick pig

A. A braying camel.
Rollo laughed like a “braying camel” when he solemnly offered Lydia toast with secret love notes.

35. Why did Alex Sanderson’s car, a Humber, blow a gasket before the dance?

A. It was too cold
B. It was too old
C. It needed repair
D. Not specified

D. Not specified.
The source states that Alex Sanderson’s Humber car had blown a gasket that day.

36. What garment did Lydia wear at the Milton Posnett dance that seemed too small for her?

A. Black and scarlet dress
B. Pale mauve silk
C. White tulle skirt
D. Green velvet coat

A. Black and scarlet dress.
She wore a long silk dress of black and scarlet that seemed a fraction too small for her.

37. What was the name of the village dance spot Blackie suggested?

A. Nenborough Hall
B. Milton Posnett
C. Eaton Something
D. The Prince Albert

B. Milton Posnett.
Lydia and Alex went to dinner, and Blackie suggested the village dance at Milton Posnett.

38. What items were Miss Bertie and Miss Juliana buying in London?

A. New clothing
B. A house
C. A birthday present
D. Gardening tools

C. A birthday present.
Lydia excitedly told the Narrator that her aunts were going to London to look for her birthday present.

39. What flower did the Narrator suggest replacing the everlasting bowls of narcissus?

A. Marigold
B. Ixias
C. Bluebells
D. Lilac

B. Ixias.
The Narrator had spoken to Miss Bertie of the delicious many-coloured ixias to make a change.

40. What physical feature made Nancy seem like a “brushed and soft-eyed domestic animal”?

A. Her pink dress
B. Her blonde hair
C. Her quiet demeanor
D. Her clean white paint

B. Her blonde hair.
The Narrator felt she looked attractive, like a soft-eyed domestic animal waiting to be stroked.

41. What item did the Narrator find on the grass just before meeting Lydia’s mother?

A. A coin
B. A gold ring
C. A thrush-egg shell
D. A four-leaf clover

C. A thrush-egg shell.
At the road, the Narrator picked up the empty shell of a thrush egg lying in the grass.

42. What did Lydia’s mother say she was doing in Evensford?

A. Buying a house
B. Visiting her daughter
C. Business with solicitor
D. Attending a party

C. Business with a solicitor.
Lydia’s mother said she was in town for “A little business with the family solicitor” once a year.

43. What happened to Miss Juliana three days after Lydia’s twenty-first birthday party?

A. She went to London
B. She died suddenly
C. She became wealthy
D. She had a party

B. She died suddenly.
Three mornings after the party, Juliana woke up, reached for the bell, and was found dead.

44. What structure burned down in the fire at Johnson’s garage?

A. The house
B. The stables
C. The office
D. The Chrysler

B. The stables.
Blackie had a fire in the back stables; the old landaus, wagonettes, and stables burned.

45. Who did Lydia send Tom Holland to see with a note on her birthday evening?

A. Alex Sanderson
B. Blackie Johnson
C. Miss Bertie
D. Captain Rollo

B. Blackie Johnson.
Lydia sent Tom with a note to Blackie Johnson at the garage that night, after Alex refused.

46. How did Alex Sanderson die?

A. In a car crash
B. By shooting
C. By drowning
D. Suicide

C. By drowning.
Alex slipped off the bridge parapet and fell into the river, and drowned, where they were dragging for his body.

47. What was the name Tom and the Narrator gave the local fox?

A. Sir Roger
B. King Henry
C. Master Reynard
D. Lord Julian

A. Sir Roger.
Tom said the fox lay in the barley washing himself, suggesting they call him “Sir Roger”.

48. Who were the McKechnies who lived up the hill from Tom’s farm?

A. Baptist butchers
B. Liberal professors
C. Presbyterian farmers
D. Anglican lawyers

C. Presbyterian farmers.
Tom’s neighbours, the McKechnies, were a family of Presbyterian Scots who attended the Succoth chapel.

49. What did Blackie eventually decide to do to the limousine?

A. Paint it blue
B. Sell it quickly
C. Give it away
D. Scrap the body

A. Paint it blue.
Blackie planned to repaint the limousine after repairs, deciding on a nice blue.

50. What realization helped the Narrator finally accept Lydia and conquer his fear?

A. He was broke
B. He was growing up
C. He hated the town
D. He loved Blackie

B. He was growing up.
He realized that he, too, had been growing up, and the pain of love might be its flowering.

Brief Overview

Love for Lydia is a novel by H. E. Bates, first published in 1952. It is a semi-autobiographical novel set in the fictional town of Evensford, England. The story details the intense and often tragic relationship between a shy young man and the unpredictable woman he loves, Lydia Aspen.

The novel begins in winter with the arrival of Lydia Aspen in Evensford. She is the niece of two sisters and has lived a very lonely, restricted life. The narrator, a young, shy local reporter named Richardson, meets Lydia.

Richardson teaches Lydia to skate, and they quickly fall in love. Lydia changes rapidly as she becomes fascinated with the town’s social life, attending dances with friends like Tom Holland and Alex Sanderson.

Her growing need for excitement and wild living causes serious difficulties, leading to a fight between Alex and the driver, Blackie Johnson. The novel takes a tragic turn when Alex falls from a bridge and dies. Later, Tom Holland is also killed in an accident.

Richardson leaves Evensford but returns two years later to find Lydia in a sanatorium. She became sick due to excessive partying and drinking. Blackie visits her often, showing loyal affection. Richardson visits, too, and Lydia recovers slowly.

Lydia decides she will never return to her old, restricted life in the big house. She asks Richardson to leave Evensford and go to the sea with her. Richardson agrees, feeling true happiness for their future together.