"The Ladies of Missalonghi" Trivia Quiz

Answer: Alicia

Missalonghi belongs to the poor widow Drusilla Hurlingford Wright. Missy Wright, the main character of the story, is Drusilla's daughter. Octavia Hurlingford is Drusilla's unmarried sister. Alicia Marshall is Drusilla and Octavia's wealthy niece.

Answer: She is Missy's best friend.

Missy is an only child, as her father died when she was a baby. Missy has many aunts on the Hurlingford side of her family - Drusilla has at least six sisters (Aurelia, Augusta, and Antonia, who all married rich men, and the spinsters, Octavia, Julia, and Cornelia) and two brothers (Maxwell and Herbert, both of whom have sons, so they are or were married). Una, as Livilla Hurlingford's first cousin, is also a distant cousin of Missy's - and is Missy's best friend, encouraging her to stand up for herself and to follow her dreams.

Answer: To buy oats for the next morning's breakfast.

Missy's uncle Maxwell Hurlingford owns the grocery and feed store in Byron. Missy earns her spending money by selling the extra butter and eggs from Missalonghi, but on the day the story starts, she is replacing the oats that the mice ate. Maxwell's brother Herbert owns the fabric and clothing shop, and Alicia (though the business is officially in her mother's name) owns the hat shop.

Answer: In Maxwell's store.

John Smith comes into Maxwell's store just before closing time, as Missy is paying for her purchase. She goes from there to the library, where her friend Una asks if she's seen John Smith yet. Missy describes the stranger in the store, and Una confirms that he is John Smith. While Una had known him in Sydney, Missy's first encounter with him was at Maxwell's.

Answer: Brown satin.

Drusilla chooses lilac crepe. Octavia has had her eye on the blue silk. Missy silently wishes for a scarlet lace dress and hat, but lacks the courage to suggest it, or to object to her mother's recommendation of the brown satin.

Answer: Shortness of breath resulting from a pinched spinal nerve.

John Smith, witnessing her collapse, at first thinks she tripped while trying to avoid him; her mother and aunt fear that it may be heart trouble; and Missy herself, not wanting to be a burden to them, at first insists to Dr. Hurlingford that she must have fainted. Dr. Parkinson, the heart specialist in Sydney, diagnoses her problem as a pinched nerve.

Answer: A mystery buyer is acquiring a lot of shares in the company.

While several of the family spinsters and widows do own shares, Billy has managed to convince them that the shares are worthless. He plans to trick them into giving Alicia the shares as a wedding present, so that he and the other directors can fend off the mystery buyer's takeover attempt. Byron Bottle is described as a thriving business, so the springs and the machinery must be going strong!

Answer: Alicia elopes with Uncle Billy's chauffeur.

Missy goes to Sydney for her appointment with Dr. Parkinson, and to sell her mother's and aunts' shares, on a Tuesday. The next day, Drusilla goes into Byron to deliver Julia's and Cornelia's money from the shares, and buys the sewing machine. In the meantime, Missy has gone down into the valley to propose to John Smith.

They are married two days later, and the shareholders' meeting is the day after their wedding. That morning, the Marshall household is in an uproar over Alicia's elopement, while the men are also preparing for the meeting.

Answer: He had a grudge against the Hurlingfords.

John Smith, the mystery buyer, is a very shrewd businessman who deliberately offers a high price to shareholders who normally would not sell to anyone outside the family. After he gains control and announces his planned improvements, Maxwell, Herbert, Sir William, and several others are so overcome with spite that they sell out to him completely, cutting themselves off from any further profits.

This confirms Smith's opinion that they are fools. Smith's grudge against the Hurlingford clan stems from their snobbish treatment of him during his unhappy first marriage, to Una Hurlingford.

Answer: All of the answers are correct

Smith, the chairman of the board, declares that he wants women on the board because they will bring a fresh perspective to new and old problems. He names Missy as his vice-chair, and invites Drusilla, Octavia, Julia, and Cornelia to serve as directors - as he greatly admires their fortitude in coping with poverty and the deceit of their male relatives over the years.

So, all ends happily for "The Ladies of Missalonghi"!