'Duet' by Carol Shields Trivia Quiz

Answer: Anita

The Gill family spent Martin's sabbatical year in Birmingham, in a flat belonging to another family, the Spaldings, who went to stay at an English school in Cyprus. Anita, their daughter, had left a letter for the tenants, which Richard had found, and the two had become pen pals. Richard is very secretive about his correspondence with Anita, and worries when the letters stop coming. Judith wonders if it might be because of a postal strike in the UK, but it is actually because John and Isabel Spalding have divorced, and Isabel and Anita are living in Cyprus.

When John later comes to stay with the Gills, he says that Anita read the letters out at teatime, and that he himself is writing a novel about a family based on the Gills.

Answer: Wool

Judith is a biographer - she is currently writing a biography of the Canadian writer Susanna Moodie - and Martin is an English professor whose specialist subject is John Milton. While looking for spare paper, Judith finds large quantities of wool in one of Martin's desk drawers and cannot understand what it is doing there.

She agonises over whether to ask him about it. When his parents visit, he reveals that he is going to use the wool to make a graphic of 'Paradise Lost', with different colours of wool representing different themes. Judith is sceptical about the idea and worries that Martin will make a fool of himself, though it turns out to be a success and Martin is interviewed on local radio about it.

Answer: She comes down with a virus.

Judith goes to bed with a headache and wakes up feeling weak and ill. A visiting doctor says that it is a virus and Judith spends several days in bed, with her children, Richard and in-laws all taking care of her. She receives a letter from Florence, her mother, scolding her for overdoing it and not making the children do more around the house, and compares Richard's kind and caring parents to her own mother, who was a cold and unsympathetic figure. Various friends come to visit, including Roger Ramsay, a colleague of Martin's who is in an on-off relationship with Ruthie St Pierre, a library assistant, and has recently quarrelled with her.

Answer: He plagiarised a story she wrote in his creative writing class for his bestseller, 'Graven Images'.

Furlong Eberhardt is a writer, colleague of Martin's and a close friend of Judith's, although Martin dislikes him. He is interviewed on television and Martin makes fun of him, much to the anger of their daughter Meredith, who is a fan of Furlong's latest book, 'Graven Images'.

After recovering from her illness, Judith reads 'Graven Images' and is furious to find that Furlong has plagiarised the plot of a story she wrote for his writing class, when she had attempted to write fiction for a change. The irony is that she herself had plagiarised it from an unpublished novel by John Spalding, due to being short of ideas; however, she had been unhappy with the final result after giving it to Furlong to read, and decided to write a biography instead. Judith corners Furlong and calls him a 'swine', and he is hurt as he cannot understand why she is angry, saying that he feels incredibly guilty for what he did.

When she eventually reveals the reason for her anger, he laughs it off, saying all writers recycle plots, and she realises that they have been talking at cross purposes and wonders just what he is referring to. To add to the confusion, Meredith tells Judith later on that she understands Judith doesn't trust Furlong, but that 'it isn't true'.

However, she refuses to say what 'it' is.

Answer: He is American.

Furlong's books have often been described as chronicling the quintessential Canadian experience. Judith is curious about his background; she knows that his real name is Rudyard (the name 'Furlong' came from a review saying he was a furlong ahead of other writers) and that Roger is an expert on Furlong's work, and goes to the library where Ruthie works to have a look at Roger's thesis.

While at the library, she spots Ruthie, who is heavily pregnant (it is implied that Meredith thought Judith thought Furlong had been having an affair with Ruthie). Roger's thesis is of little use, so Judith goes to the Public Archives, where she is well known.

She does some research and discovers that Furlong is actually American by birth, having been born in Iowa; he moved to Canada to avoid the draft for the Korean War and became a Canadian citizen. Judith cannot help but be amused, having speculated that Furlong's past might have been more sordid.

Answer: Tuba

Charleen is a single mother who lives with Seth, her easygoing teenage son. He plays the tuba in a concert band. Her current boyfriend, Eugene, is an orthodontist - much to the disapproval of Doug and Greta Savage, a hippy couple who are friends of hers - and while Eugene was working on Seth's teeth and he had to wear braces, he switched to double bass, which Charleen got second-hand (and which she prefers, as she likes its shape and sound).

She hates the sound of the tuba and finds it ugly, but Seth likes it because, in Charleen's words, 'it's his voice that makes the sounds'.

Answer: Grass

Charleen works for the 'Botanical Journal', a quarterly magazine based at the local university and run by Doug Savage. Brother Adam sends a passionate article about the societal role of grass, and although they have to reject it, Charleen is impressed with it and writes to him.

In return, he sends her a package for growing grass: seeds, earth and a sprouting tray. Charleen immediately plants the grass and once it begins to grow, she starts writing to Brother Adam. Eugene is unaware of their correspondence.

Answer: Priest

Louis takes Judith out for lunch, then Charleen. He is seventy-two years old, a heavy smoker and has had three operations. He and Charleen go to a pub in Weedham, where Brother Adam also lives. Charleen knows that Louis used to teach woodwork, but when he mentions that he taught at St Vincent, a Catholic school, she realises that he must have been a priest as well, which Louis confirms. Louis explains that although he is still Catholic he left the Church three years ago, and that having cancer made him reevaluate his life. Louis and Charleen go to Watson's house, the Whole World Retreat, to buy a nursery plant, and Charleen discovers that Watson is no longer living there; Rob and Cheryl, a couple who live in the retreat, are the ones sending Seth's maintenance cheques. Rob explains that Watson is planning to go 'east' and has written a series of cheques postdated up to Seth's eighteenth birthday, and gives the envelope full of remaining cheques to Charleen.

Answer: She wants him to see Watson.

When Louis and Charleen return to her mother's house, where Judith and Martin are also staying, they find police in the house. Charleen finds out that Seth has been missing for several days; he is staying with the Savages and Greta has disappeared with him, and Doug has been calling all day and eventually spoke to Judith. Doug goes to the Whole World Retreat, as he has a feeling Greta might have tried to take Seth to see Watson. Charleen suddenly realises that Watson is 'Brother Adam' and goes to his address with the police; she finds Watson sitting in a room full of grass and mirrors.

She tells him that Seth is missing, and that the police think she may be bringing him to Watson's house. Eugene shouts up the stairs that Seth is safe; Greta had driven to the house with him, unaware that she was being followed.

She is having a manic episode and says that she wanted Seth to see Watson before he left for India. Doug manages to calm her down. Meanwhile, Watson runs away via the fire escape. Nobody knows where he has gone.

Answer: A wedding

In 'Small Ceremonies', Roger and Ruthie reconcile and are married; Ruthie has given birth to a baby boy, christened Roger, and they have a low-key wedding. Ruthie makes the rings and Roger writes the order of service. In 'The Box Garden', Florence and Louis are married out of Florence's house, in a small family ceremony, and Judith's children present Florence with a gift of kitchen items, which Meredith calls a 'kitchen shower'. Judith and Martin give them a pair of bedspreads, while Charleen gives them a book of her poetry.