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Ruth Rendell: " A Sleeping Life" Quiz

An early work, from 1978, and another example of her fine development of characters.

A multiple-choice quiz by rosadebon. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
rosadebon

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
95,581

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
270

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. The footpath on which Rhoda Comfrey's body was found was featured in another Ruth Rendell novel. Which one was it? Hint

"An Unkindness of Ravens"

"The Veiled One"

"A Judgment in Stone"

"Make Death Love Me"

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. Grenville West's secretary had an unfortunate name. What was it? Hint

Polly Cracker

Molly Flanders

Polly Flinders

Molly Malone

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Question 3 of 10

3. Ruth Rendell commits one of her rare howlers in this book. Why was it absurd for Wexford to consider Rose Farriner as being the murder victim? Hint

Rose Farriner was a blonde

The women were of different races

Rose Farriner was divorced

Rose Farriner had no broken bones

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Question 4 of 10

4. Polly Flinders' roommate was a particularly nasty piece of work. How would she be described? Hint

A squalid housekeeper

Exotically beautiful

All of these

Artfully na�ve and manipulative

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Question 5 of 10

5. Where did Rhoda Comfrey's aunt, Lillian Crown, spend her days? Hint

Cleaning other people's homes

At the infirmary

In the pubs

Working at the train station

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Question 6 of 10

6. How did Grenville West write his books? Hint

He wrote two at a time

He used the telephone book to get character names

He based them on classic plays

He worked at the police station so he could observe people's behavior

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. Why didn't Mike Burden like Mr. Hetherington, the proprietor of the Trieste Hotel? Hint

He delayed in telling the police about Grenville West's car being abandoned

He wouldn't tell them anything about his guests

People in wet clothing couldn't sit on the furniture in his office

His hair looked dyed

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. What was Burden's observation on meeting John Grenville West (from whom Grenville West was supposed to have stolen his identity)? Hint

That he was the best forensic accountant he'd ever met

That he was too old to have been the murderer

That he was a good example of why abortions should be freely available

That it was odd for a policeman to behave so surreptitiously

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Question 9 of 10

9. What was the clue that established a firm link between Rhoda Comfrey and Grenville West? Hint

Malina Patel's confession

The author's biography on the book cover

Victor Vivian's comments

The dedication of a novel

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Question 10 of 10

10. The underlying theme of this book is women's equality. What term did Wexford's daughter, Sylvia, use that gave Wexford another key to solving the mystery? Hint

Sexist plot

Eonism

Testosterone poisoning

Assumptions

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The footpath on which Rhoda Comfrey's body was found was featured in another Ruth Rendell novel. Which one was it?

Answer: "An Unkindness of Ravens"

Down this path the police shadowed Veronica on her way to the tennis tournament. They knew someone was going to try to murder her, but they were very surprised at who the attacker was.

2. Grenville West's secretary had an unfortunate name. What was it?

Answer: Polly Flinders

Pauline Flinders, actually: "... heaven knows what her parents were thinking about." Polly Flinders is a character in an English children's rhyme. I've never heard it, but then I was raised on the other side of the Atlantic.

3. Ruth Rendell commits one of her rare howlers in this book. Why was it absurd for Wexford to consider Rose Farriner as being the murder victim?

Answer: Rose Farriner was divorced

Rhoda Comfrey was a virgin. Odd of Inspector Wexford to have forgotten that. Odder still that Mike Burden did, because when Dr. Crocker reported on the autopsy he said the victim had nothing unusual except for being a virgin. That (of course) had Inspector Burden sputtering, "Good heavens, she was an unmarried woman, wasn't she? Things have come to a pretty pass, I must say, if a perfectly proper condition for a single woman is called abnormal."

4. Polly Flinders' roommate was a particularly nasty piece of work. How would she be described?

Answer: All of these

Malina Patel was a genuine beach tree to plain, bucktoothed Polly, who was a very easy target. Anyone else notice how often tidy vs. untidy housekeeping comes up in Ruth Rendell's novels?

5. Where did Rhoda Comfrey's aunt, Lillian Crown, spend her days?

Answer: In the pubs

Marinating away in gin and cigarettes.

6. How did Grenville West write his books?

Answer: He based them on classic plays

Not as bad a technique as it sounds. Remember "Clueless" being based on Jane Austen's "Emma"? He would put them in different time frames and nationalities.

7. Why didn't Mike Burden like Mr. Hetherington, the proprietor of the Trieste Hotel?

Answer: His hair looked dyed

"His careful grooming reminded Wexford of Burden's fastidiousness, though the inspector never quite had the look of having been sprayed all over with satin-finish lacquer."

8. What was Burden's observation on meeting John Grenville West (from whom Grenville West was supposed to have stolen his identity)?

Answer: That he was a good example of why abortions should be freely available

John Grenville West had suffered so much brain damage when his mother tried to self-abort her pregnancy that he was no more than a vegetable. His mother, Lillian Crown, only said, "Ever so sad, wasn't it?"

9. What was the clue that established a firm link between Rhoda Comfrey and Grenville West?

Answer: The dedication of a novel

His third novel, "Apes in Hell", was dedicated: "For Rhoda Comfrey, without whom this book could never have been written."

10. The underlying theme of this book is women's equality. What term did Wexford's daughter, Sylvia, use that gave Wexford another key to solving the mystery?

Answer: Eonism

Sylvia thought that, to get on in a man's world, a woman might have to practice eonism, the art of one sex passing itself off as the opposite without being discovered. The term comes from the life of Charles �on de Beaumont, the Chevalier D' �on, who in the 1800s lived as a woman for thirty years without being discovered, even by the woman he lived with.

Source: Author rosadebon

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bullymom before going online.
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