Precious Ramotswe's Precious People Quiz

Answer: She sells the cattle she has inherited from her father.

Mma Ramotswe (Mma is a Setswana honorific title for women, used in the same way as Miss or Mrs in English) has always dreamed of going into business for herself, and -- armed with a book by Clovis Anderson on "The Principles of Private Detection" -- decides to found a detective agency in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana.

Her late father leaves her a herd of fine cattle -- his eye for them had been famous -- and she impulsively decides to convert them into cash. From there she buys a house in town; purchases a small white van, a typewriter and some office furniture to further her business; rents a storefront; and hires a secretary.

After all, if you have a secretary, no one can say you are not a real businesswoman!

Answer: In the mines of South Africa

Rra Ramotswe (Rra is the Setswana equivalent of Mr) spent years working in the mines, along with men from all parts of Africa and all ranges of the human spectrum. With the money he earned, he raised his daughter Precious (whose mother was killed at a railroad crossing when she was a small child) and began his herd of cattle. One ugly incident from the mines was described in "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency": concealed in shadows, he watched as a gang of men threw a hapless miner over the side of an underground cliff. Being alone, he could not intervene in the murder, and he never knew the name of the victim or the identities of his attackers, and his helplessness in that moment haunted him all his life.

This memory, shared with his beloved daughter, helped inspire her to go into detective work.

Answer: Shoes

Mma Makutsi loves shoes, frequently admiring them in the shops of Gaborone. But between her family responsibilities -- she cares for her ailing brother Richard until his death, and continues to send money for her relatives in Bobonong -- and her small salary, she spends the first three books virtuously wearing a single, sensible pair.

In "The Kalahari Typing School for Men," she begins a side business of her own -- a typing school catering to men, who are often too embarrassed to learn side-by-side with women -- and finally indulges in a dream pair of shoes, bright green ones with sky-blue linings.

Her collection slowly grows over the course of the series, although her efforts to induce Mma Ramotswe to a greater appreciation of footwear seem doomed to failure.

Answer: Depression

Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, who is invariably called thus, begins to leave his business early -- sometimes entrusting Tlokweng Speedy Motors entirely to his apprentices, who have never before impressed him with their skill or work ethic. He begs off dinners with Mma Ramotswe -- who is his fiancee at this point -- yet he insists that nothing is wrong with him. Consulting with Dr. Moffat, an extremely worried Mma Ramotswe realizes that Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni is suffering from depression -- and must now evolve a plan to persuade him that he is ill and must be treated.

By the end of the book, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni is largely back to his own self, but Mma Ramotswe and his other friends remain on watch for any sign of a relapse.

Answer: Fruitcake

To take an example that comes up frequently in the books, let's say that Mma Potokwane needs assistance from Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, perhaps because the orphan farm's ancient van needs mechanical work. She'll call him up and invite him to visit her and the children. Who could say no? Then she'll show him into her office, all smiles, and serve him a thick slice of moist, delicious fruitcake baked by one of the housemothers. While he is enjoying the cake, she'll bring up this minor problem that she needs solved -- and how can he do anything but agree to help?

The fruitcake method of making friends and influencing people is stunningly effective in Mma Potokwane's hands. In one memorable passage, she even uses it on one of Johannesburg's leading orthopedic surgeons -- successfully persuading him to mend an orphan's club foot at no charge.

Answer: He had been buried alive.

Motholeli and Puso were born into a band of Masarwa, a hunter-gatherer people. When their mother died suddenly, their people could not care for baby Puso -- so, as tradition dictated, they buried the infant alive with his mother. Young Motholeli, only seven or eight years old at the time, dug him up again and fled, finding menial work in the city and taking care of her brother as best she could. The pair wound up at the orphan farm after Motholeli lost the use of her legs to illness.

Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni meets the children after Mma Potokwane gets him to fix Motholeli's wheelchair, and they form a connection. Seeing an opportunity, Mma Potokwane suggests that he become a father to them, and he agrees on the spot. The children move in with his fiancee, Mma Ramotswe (Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni joins them after their marriage, in a later book), and life is never quite the same again.

Answer: A parachute jump for the benefit of the orphan farm

Once Mma Potokwane decides that a sponsored parachute jump will be a successful fundraiser for her orphan farm, there is no stopping her -- in fact, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni is too afraid to try! Although he has never been in an airplane before, and the concept of a parachute jump gives him nightmares, Mma Potokwane wastes no time collecting sponsors and telling the newspapers of his bravery.

At a gentle suggestion from Mma Ramotswe, Charlie seizes the idea of a parachute jump as a wonderful way to impress girls, and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni is able to make a graceful exit from the plan.

The jump goes well (except for an acacia thorn making Charlie's landing a tad uncomfortable) and is followed up with a surprisingly important party.

Answer: He was in prison for two years.

Mr. Polopetsi tells Mma Ramotswe that he loved his work as a pharmacy assistant at a hospital, and considered himself very good at it -- until an incredibly busy day led to a misunderstood instruction, a mis-filled prescription, and a dead patient. The pharmacist in charge lied to investigators about the confusion in the pharmacy and his own role in the chaos, and Mr. Polopetsi was blamed for it all. Now, with a felony conviction and prison time on his record, he can't persuade anyone to hire him -- until Mma Ramotswe, with her eye for people's hearts, comes into his life. An excellent typist and quick learner, he takes dictation from Mma Makutsi, reorganizes the garage's supply and restocking system, and shows an affinity for engines that endears him to Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni.

Answer: At a dance class

With extra cash from her typing school, Mma Makutsi buys a dress, a new pair of shoes, and decides to see what having fun is all about. (The possibility of meeting a man is an added bonus.) At first, she is disappointed when Phuti asks her to dance: he has a very pronounced stutter, little sense of rhythm, and two left feet (possibly more) -- but, as time goes by, he grows on her.

They decide to wed by the end of the book, although it takes some help: since Phuti is too shy to pop the question himself, his father ends up entreating Mma Ramotswe to make the proposal on his behalf.

Answer: Note stole from her father.

Note Mokoti, famed jazz musician and trumpet player, was not really interested in being a husband. Alternately ignoring his wife and abusing her, he finally killed her love for him through his lack of support when their premature baby died after only a few hours of life. His shadow still hangs over her life years later -- even after her much happier marriage to Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. And when he reappears in the sixth book of the series, he does not give us any reason to suspect that he has changed.

Thank you for taking this quiz. I hope that you enjoy the series, too!