Terry Pratchett's 'Maskerade' Trivia Quiz

Answer: Collette

Collette was named after fan and Pratchett convention organiser Collette Reap. Apparently, she has some very interesting earrings.

Answer: 'La Triviata'

Later on they attend 'Il Truccatore, The Master of Disguise', but that is in disguise. Appropriately enough.

Answer: Beret

Walter's depiction in the book bears quite a close resemblence to Frank Spencer of 'Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em', played by Michael Crawford - who made his name in the West End playing the Phantom. You see what he did there?

Answer: False

He is mentioned by name, but the only Watchmen in the book are Nobby and Detritus. Andre is also technically a Watchman, being a member of the Cable Street Particulars. Given events in 'Night Watch', it seems odd that Commander Vimes resurrected that branch of the Watch, but history is a funny thing.

Answer: The Golden Mallet

Mr Pounder's trademark opera hat with candles is another reference to Gaston Leroux's original story of 'The Phantom of the Opera'. The hero encounters a ratcatcher in very similar attire in the basement of the opera house, from a distance believing it to be a demon. The chump.

Answer: AM$2000

The money for this came from Nanny's royalties for her specialist cookbook. A few years after 'Maskerade' was published, a gap in the market was spotted and 'Nanny Ogg's Cookbook' was available in the real world. I suspect royalties were a little larger for that version...

Answer: Nev

Nanny has fifteen children. You want them in alphabetical order? Okay, here goes. Daff, Darron, Dreen, Grame, Jason, Karen, Kev, Nev, Reet, Sharleen, Shawn, Shirl, Tracie Trev and Wane. And now with a mouthful of crackers...

Answer: "This damn door sticks"

Beautiful. Another heart-rending aria, The Pedlar's Song from 'Lohenshaak', sung by a swan earlier in the book goes untranslated. "Schneide meinen eigenen Hals-" it sings, which roughly translates as "I cut my own throat". Any Pratchett fan should immediately spot the reference to the omnipresent sausage-inna-bun seller Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler.

Answer: Iron

This particular aspect of Discworld magical lore has been long-established, though I'm fairly sure (open to corrections here..) Rincewind managed it in 'The Light Fantastic'. The usual official explanation for this sort of thing is "alternate pasts". Or, to put it another way, "whoops".

Answer: Gribeau

Oddly enough, when he was first tranformed into a man (in 'Witches Abroad'), the witches magically clothed him. This time round his outfit was bought beforehand, and he was adjusted to fit.

Answer: True

A Salt-of-the-Disc young lad from The Shades, he discovered early in life that people took him more seriously if he appeared foreign and exotic. The only downside for him was the Mediterranean-style diet of his adoptive nation - he just longed for pork pies.

Answer: A double bass

"A broken neck and the body's been kicked in considerably." The Ghost seems to have a penchant for destroying expensive instruments. Earlier in the book, he sabotages the Opera House's organ; an original BSJ ("Bloody Stupid" Johnson, the Disc's incompetent counterpart to, among others, JS Bach).

Answer: Multiple exclamation marks

While all of these are characteristics of the Ghost, it seems the real giveaway is the punctuation. This was first noted by Rincewind in 'Eric', when observing the sign above the gateway to Hell "You don't have to be 'damned' to work here, but it helps! ! !" - much snappier and far more distressing than the traditional "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here".

Answer: X

The X stands for "Someone who has a cool and exciting middle initial", implausibly. The name Perdita first appeared in 'Lords and Ladies', where Agnes was part of Diamanda - née Lucy - Tockley's coven along with Magenta Frottidge (Violet to her Mum) and Amanita Device (real name not given. Shall we guess?). Since then, Perdita has become less of a pseudonym and more of a personality.

Answer: Bow tie

The Watch badge comes from his volunteer work with Captain (then Lance-Constable) Carrot. He wears the green bathrobe after he's had a bath, and was coaxed into wearing the collar in order to travel for free as a pet on the Ankh-Morpork to Lancre stagecoach.