"From Hell" - "Blackmail Or Mrs Barrett" Quiz | Literature

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. How long does Marie Kelly say she's been dragging Alice round trying to find someone to take care of her?

Answer: 4 Months

She takes Alice to Sickert's studio, and tells him he can take care of her, as it's his fault her parents were taken away. Sickert decides to take Alice to Anne Crook's parents, and ask them to look after her, because he does not want to take on that responsibility himself.

2. How much does the man on the street say he has to spend on a "ticket to Hairy-ford-shire"?

Answer: Three Pence

Hairy-ford-shire is supposed to be a pun on Herefordshire, and is also slang for a woman's genitals. The man knew Marie was a prostitute, and this was his roundabout way of asking for business. He says he only has thruppence, which, according to the appendix in the back of the book, was a standard price for short-term prostitution.

3. Where does the man throw his money after conducting his "business" with Marie?

Answer: On the floor

After getting what he wants from Marie, the man throws his money by her feet, and just walks away. Marie had tried to fool him, by clasping her thighs together so that she wouldn't risk pregnancy or disease, but he realises what she's doing and doesn't let her get away with it.

4. Where did Liz grow up?

Answer: Sweden

Liz used to live in Torslanda, Sweden, but she ended up living in England as a prostitute. She talks about how much better her life was in Sweden, and how she thought life would be good in England, but she was mistaken.

5. How old was Liz when she started working for Lars Olofsson?

Answer: 17

Liz went to work for him as a servant at the age of 17. Lars slept with her for years, even though he had a wife and three children. When he found out Liz was pregnant, he sent her away, and that is why she came to England. In the end, her baby was born dead.

6. What is the name of Anne Crook's father?

Answer: Bill

Bill, or William, Crook was Anne's father, and Sickert brings Alice to live with him and his wife. The couple have no idea what has happened to Anne, or to her husband, and they still do not know that their son in law was the Queen's grandson.

7. Why do Anne's parents think she has gone mad?

Answer: Because her father raped her

According to the appendix at the back of the book, Alan Moore chose to imply that Bill Crook could have been Alice's father because, although no father's name was listed on the birth certificate, a later document had his name under the "Father" heading. Incest was not uncommon in Victorian London, so it is quite possible these events did happen.

8. Which one of the women is threatened by the Old Nichol Mob, who told her they'd do to her what they did to Emma Smith if she didn't pay them?

Answer: Polly Nichols

Polly was told that if she didn't pay them more insurance money, they would violate her with a knife. Some consider Emma Smith to be an early victim of Jack The Ripper, but her death was not consistant with the other deaths, so it is widely believed she was murdered by the Old Nichol Mob.

9. How much money do the women owe for their insurance money?

Answer: Four Pounds

You'll remember that the women only received thruppence, on average, for each customer they saw, so four pounds was an awful lot of money for them to raise. It is because they are in debt that Marie decides to blackmail Sickert, and trigger the chain of events that leads to their deaths.

10. What is the name of the landlady at the Britannia pub?

Answer: Ringer

Mrs Ringer allows the women to put their drinks on a tab, which suggests that they drink there often. The Britannia isn't their first choice for customers though, Liz says it is too far from the big streets to attract many customers - the Ten Bells is much busier.

11. Who actually wrote the blackmail letter to Sickert?

Answer: Marie

Marie had the original idea to write the letter, and she also wrote it out. The ladies spend the entire evening thinking what to write and how to phrase it, and they plan to deliver it that very night.

12. Who does Anne Crook meet when she escapes from the hospital?

Answer: Walter Sickert

Anne says that she climbed out of the hospital because she had to find her baby, Alice. She meets Sickert, and asks him where he's sent her baby. Anne is a shadow of her former self, and being in the hospital is obviously destroying her.

13. Anne talks about how she named her baby after "Alice in Wonderland", a book her husband read to her. Which of the following was NOT one of the things she recalled about the book?

Answer: "Playing cards that spoke"

Anne's speech is verging on incomprehensible, and she can't seem to keep her train of thought. Sickert realises just how much she has been affected when she starts peeing in the street.

14. How much money do the women ask for from Sickert?

Answer: Ten Pounds

The women have asked for enough money to pay off all their debts, and have some left over for them. The women are on the poverty line, and this would be a huge amount of money to them.

15. How much money do the women originally ask for in the letter, before altering it to the amount they finally settle on?

Answer: Five Pounds

Marie Kelly says earlier in the chapter that she spent all evening planning what to put in the letter. Apparently, there was some dispute over what to ask for, because "five" is crossed out and replaced by "ten".

Source: Author Lazellia

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

"From Hell" - "Blackmail Or Mrs Barrett" Quiz

This is the fifth in my series of quizzes on the "From Hell" graphic novel series, written by Alan Moore, and illustrated by Eddie Campbell. This quiz is on Chapter 3: "Blackmail Or Mrs Barrett", and it may contain spoilers.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>