Death in Dickens Trivia Quiz

Answer: Little Nell

Little Nell is the beautiful young heroine of one of the original cliffhangers, 'The Old Curiosity Shop' (published in installments, 1840-41). After descending through no fault of her own from relative prosperity to extreme want, she ends up in an abandoned abbey, exhausted and malnourished and there they find her.
"She was dead. "Dear, gentle, patient, noble Nell was dead....Where were the traces of her early cares, her sufferings, and fatigues? All gone. Sorrow was dead indeed in her, but peace and perfect happiness were born; imaged in her tranquil beauty and profound repose."
In an England where approximately one child in five wouldn't make it to the age of 15, the image of the beautiful, holy death of a child must have struck a chord in many a Victorian heart.

Answer: Sydney Carton

Sydney Carton, the rakish bad-boy of 'Tale of Two Cities' (1850), eventually saves the life of Charles Darnay, the true love of the woman he had hoped to marry. Before his execution he mounts the stairs to the guillotine looking peaceful and 'noble and prophetic'.

He does not actually say the lines in question; they are his probable thoughts: "If he had given any utterance...they would have been these."

Answer: Ralph Nickleby

In Charles Dickens, bad guys meet satisfyingly bad ends. In 'Nicholas Nickleby' (first published in serial form, 1838-39) Nicholas's evil uncle Ralph is one of the worst. His suicide is terrible.
"He had torn a rope from one of the old trunks, and hung himself on an iron hook immediately below the trap-door in the ceiling--in the very place to which the eyes of his son, a lonely, desolate, little creature, had so often been directed in childish terror, fourteen years before."

Answer: Miss Havisham

'Great Expectations' appeared first in serial form from 1860 to 1861. Miss Havisham's schemes almost wreck (or wreck, depending on the ending you prefer) the lives of Pip and Estella. In her interview with Pip she begins to understand the damage she has done before her faded dress catches fire. Dying of her wounds she begs Pip that when he ever sees her name he should write under it 'I forgive her!' He finally gives her the kiss of forgiveness before leaving her for the last time.

Answer: Nancy

In 'Oliver Twist' (periodical form, 1837-39), Nancy, Bill Sykes' girl, is both a prostitute and thief but her heart of gold leads her to protect Oliver and get on the bad side of Bill. Bill kills her in a scene so graphic that it met with a lot of criticism when the book was first published.

Theatrical and movie versions of the book have toned down the violence as well. It has been argued that Nancy's murder was based on a real-life case, the murder of the prostitute Eliza Grimwood, in 1838.

Answer: Spontaneous combustion

In 'Bleak House' (first published in installments, 1852-53) Krook dies of spontaneous combustion, where his body is literally consumed by fire while nothing else in the room is touched. . He's found by Mr. Snagsby and Mr. Guppy, after they notice a funny smell (chops burning?) and "... a thick, stagnant, sickening oil with some natural repulsion in it that makes them both shudder". This particular death lead to a popular interest in spontaneous combustion which lasted for years. George Lewes, literary critic and skeptic, took Dickens to task, calling the phenomenon superstitious nonsense. Dickens, careful of his reputation for accuracy, responded with a list of reports he'd followed. Like Krook, cases of this phenomenon usually include an alcoholic and some kind of flame in the room.

Answer: James Steerforth

In David Copperfield (published in installments 1849-1850), it is ironic that Ham, the goodhearted fisherman, dies trying to save Steerforth, the man who seduced Little Emily and ruined his life. It is interesting that although David mourns Ham, it is the death of Steerforth, his champion at school and a very complex character, that breaks his heart.

Answer: Little Dorrit

Dickens knew what he was doing in 'Little Dorrit' (published in installments 1855-1857). There is foreboding in his first description of the Clennam house: "Many years ago it had it in its mind to slide down sideways; it had been propped up, however, and was leaning on some half-dozen gigantic crutches..." The servant Affery sometimes hears noises the house makes...

It's a matter of time. Mrs. Clennam, who has asked for forgiveness, is spared, although she collapses with a stroke in the street but Rigaud (or Blandois in London) has not and is entombed.

Answer: He's hit by a train

'Dombey and Son'(published in installments, 1846-1848) appeared only 16 years after the opening of the first commercial railway line in England and trains play quite a large part in the book. They roar, they flash, they distort the countryside and the speed muddles thoughts. Carker, Dombey's double-dealing manager, is in the end driven to madness at a railway siding; watching train after train roar past before finally going under one. Just before he goes under he spots Dombey on the platform. Some critics speculate that it's Dombey who throws him under the train. Did Carker fall or was he pushed?

Answer: A Christmas Carol

In 'A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas' Dickens uses death to talk about life, about old secular Christmas traditions of celebrations with friends, family and good food. Above all, it is about the idea of Christmas as a time for charity and kindness. The spirits remind Scrooge of the kindness of Mr Fezziwig and show him the selflessness of Belle, but the death of tiny Tim and the prospect of his own cold, lonely death really turn him around. 'A Christmas Carol' was published on the 19th of December and that edition sold out by Christmas eve.

The three Christmas stories in the clues are 'The Gift of the Magi' by O Henry, The Tailor of Gloucester' by Beatrix Potter and 'Little Women' by Louisa May Alcott All involve the idea of Christmas as a season for selfless giving.