"The Thief of Time" - John Boyne Quiz

Answer: 1743

Matthieu was born in Paris. He did not have the happiest of childhoods. His parents worked in the acting industry and his father was murdered when he was four. His mother eventually married another actor and Matthieu gained a little half-brother named Tomas.

But their mother was murdered by her new husband five years later. After he was executed, the brothers left Paris to start a new life. Naturally Matthieu had no idea just how long that life would be.

Answer: Mutiny On The Bounty

In 1787, Matthieu is in Portsmouth buying books when a young boy picks his pocket. The boy is quickly caught and given a harsh sentence. But Matthieu feels sorry for the boy and wants to help. He recalls his friend Captain William Bligh is looking for a new serving-lad.

His ship The Bounty is about to set sail on a long voyage. So he kindly arranges for young John to be released and work for the Royal Navy instead. So John ends up witnessing the famous Mutiny, and chooses to join Bligh in the lifeboat. John and Matthieu meet again almost 30 years later after Bligh's funeral. (John cannot help noticing Matthieu hasn't aged a bit.)

Answer: Queen Elizabeth

Since he's lived for more than 250 years, Matthieu naturally has a lot of stories to tell. He finances Charlie Chaplin movies, marries a secretary of Bismarck's, helps set up The Olympic Games, the Crystal Palace and an Opera House in Rome (just to name a few accomplishments!).

He also meets a lot of weird and wonderful people, not suspecting for a minute their names would go down in history. Since he likes to keep a low profile he doesn't talk about history much, otherwise people might wonder why he sounds as if he lived through the period.

Answer: Tom

It is entirely co-incidental, but every descendant of Matthieu's little brother Tomas is named "Thomas" or "Tom" (or "Tommy" in 1999). In some cases the boy is named by his mother because the father dies a sudden death before the baby is born. i.e. each Thomas does not reach the age of 30 - another co-incidence. Matthieu feels sad about that, but for centuries he's been convinced there's nothing he can do.

Answer: He does not know

It wasn't till the 1790s that Matthieu wondered if something was amiss. He had reached his late 50s but his reflection still looked late-40s - and it remained so when he turned 100 in 1843! Now he was certain something was amiss, but he just accepted it, and went on living.

He is happy in life, usually keeping a low profile for a few decades, and then finding some enterprise to invest his considerable fortune in. In the late 1920s he is wise enough to see the writing on the wall and liquidate his stocks before the famous crash.

When the share-market finally does crash in September 1929, he sadly watches a stockbroking friend jump out the window.

Answer: Dominique

The two brothers meet the beautiful Dominique back in 1758 on their boat-ride from Calais to Dover. She is a few years older than Matthieu but he is immediately attracted to her. She kindly lets the wailing young Tomas share her water. Once they reach England the three French youngsters decide to band together. That night in Dover, Dominique lets Matthieu lose his virginity to her.

But from that moment on she just wants to be friends, and rejects his advances. Centuries later, Matthieu still remembers her as his first love. "She is fixed in my memory like a landmark" he writes, despite how many times she hurt and used him.

Answer: Politician

In "Mutiny On The Bounty" Matthieu was so sympathetic to the boy who tried to pick his pocket, because he used to live the same life in Dover as a teenager (still living with Dominique, although she kept snubbing him). By 1999 he's 256 years old and changed careers plenty of times. Now he's a TV executive in London. None of his colleagues in their 60s or 70s ever learn he is considerably older than they.

Answer: 19

At one point he confesses he's had 19 wives and 900 lovers (presumably the latter is just an estimate, but probably close!). But none of them ever compared to the French girl he fell in love with in 1759. It's sad she turned out to be so two-faced, and everybody but he could see how horribly she was treating him. Matthieu and his brother left Dover with Dominique after a year, and finally settled in a small country town. (Matthieu once saved her from being raped by a farmer, but she still wouldn't treat him any better.) Dominique insisted they keep up the pretense of being brothers and sister.

She and Matthieu got jobs at the local manor house. Matthieu befriended a fellow stable-hand called Jack. Eventually Matthieu confided to his new friend that Dominique was not really his sister.

But Jack just smiled; he'd guessed as such long ago by the way Matthieu looked at her. He tried to help Matthieu see Dominique was treating him like dirt, but to no avail.

Answer: TV star

Matthieu tells people the famous TV heart-throb Tommy DuMarquee is his nephew. But in actuality he's his great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-nephew; directly descended from his late half-brother Tomas (who died trying to rob a bank in 1770).

He doesn't tell many his "nephew" is the boy millions of people admire because, like Tommy, he hates the attention. Despite being famous and successful Tommy often meets his "uncle" to borrow money, to pay for cocaine for one thing. It breaks Matthieu's heart seeing each Thomas die before too long, but after centuries of trying to help he believes there's nothing he can do.

Answer: False

Over the centuries Matthieu has in fact never had any children at all, despite being married so often, plus plenty of female, er...friends. Presumably this is a side-effect of his immortality. When he returns to London in 1850, still recovering from the death of the latest Thomas in Italy at the hands of his wife's husband (who'd never actually got divorced!) he is quite rich, but nevertheless grieving. Eventually he's bored, and meets a family involved in a new building project for something called "The Crystal Palace".

He ends up working on it too, and befriends their eldest daughter Alexandra. She's a strange woman; she keeps telling him tall tales e.g. she's engaged to the Prince of Wales or she's a character from a new book of Nathaniel Hawthorne's. Matthieu is not sure whether she's lying or she has some form of mental illness.

In those days those suffering from the latter often went untreated. Her father is unwilling to discuss it when Matthieu tries to air his concerns. But Matthieu is even more surprised when Alexandra's parents burst into his home one night and her father hits him.

He accuses Matthieu of getting Alexandra pregnant, and demands he marry her! But Matthieu does not understand, he has done no such thing. They eventually believe him, but he rarely speaks to them again. Years later he reads in the newspaper that their house burnt down and Alexandra was the sole survivor. He is even more surprised to read she had a husband named "Matthieu Zela" who died in the fire, too! He shakes his head sadly.

Answer: False

In the early 1760s poor Jack assaults the squire's nastiest son (albeit with good reason). He is quickly arrested and thrown in jail. But when Matthieu comes to visit, Jack mentions a secret. He's been saving up wages for years, and has hidden nearly 300 pounds on the manor house's roof. Three hundred pounds! Jack hisses, hoping the officer at the desk won't hear; another officer is on duty tonight and Jack will be able to bribe him to release him.

The two boys can run away to Europe that night. All Matthieu has to do is bring the money and have two horses ready.

But what about Tomas and Dominique? Matthieu confides this plan to Dominique. But she wants to take Jack's money herself and leave him to rot in jail. She uses her "charm" to convince Matthieu to go along with her plan, telling him she really loves him after all. (Surely a co-incidence there's a lot of money involved!) That night the two "siblings" sneak onto the Manor's roof and find Jack's hidden purse.

It isn't easy, but Matthieu locates it in the dark and Dominique holds out her hand for it. Matthieu hesitates. Jack is like a brother. Dominique gets impatient, and her temper grows nastier. Matthieu tries to walk past her with the money...but the girl makes an insane grab for it...and that is the last thing she ever did. Matthieu and Jack escape to France that night - leaving young Tomas in the care of the middle-aged couple who'd looked after him for years. Matthieu felt guilty about Dominique's death for a long time, but I don't think he had any reason to. For one thing it was an accident; she stupidly jumped towards him in the dark - on a roof, no less. For another, she probably wouldn't have hesitated in pushing HIM off the roof to get her hands on that money.

Answer: False

It's a wonder that Tommy does not die! He's frequently tried all the drugs he can get his hands on. His extravagant lifestyle finally catches up with him one night.
Matthieu gets a call from Andrea, Tommy's expectant girlfriend. He's been rushed to hospital after "being over-tolerance at a party!" (Ironically, some months beforehand, poor Matthieu was called out late one night to a colleague's home. This man had OD-ed, and the others didn't know what to do. So Matthieu had to ring Tommy of all people for help. Later the dead TV boss' son sent Matthieu a blackmailing letter...)

Answer: His latest "nephew" Tommy

One of Matthieu's few regrets is seeing every "nephew" die - virtually as soon as he's told he's about to be a father. It just happens that way, purely co-incidence. But after Tommy's rushed to hospital from his drug overdose, Matthieu rethinks. When Tommy recovers at home (convinced his days on TV are over) Matthieu comes over to give him a tough-love talk. Shape up or else! Then he goes one step further.

He tells Tommy everything. The fact he was born in 1743. The fact he's personally known about ten of Tommy's namesake ancestors, and witnessed them all meet a premature end. Tommy doesn't believe a word of course.

Then again, his uncle has never lied to him. He certainly sounds serious. By how is it possible?! Eventually Tommy decides to reform and his uncle gives him a managerial job at his TV station.

Answer: None

Of course he witnessed how those wars changed society (except for the English Civil War which took place 100 years before he was born). He wisely stayed away from combat. Even though he's immortal, there's no guarantee a bullet wouldn't be fatal.

Answer: He starts growing older after all

Actually there are two surprises on December 31st 1999. The first is a phone-call from Tommy. Andrea's had the baby...and it's a girl! Matthieu had assumed they would follow the family's centuries-old tradition and name the baby Thomas (but now they agree it wouldn't be appropriate). How nice! He's never had a niece before.

But after getting off the phone he goes to the sink, before the clock strikes for the end of the 20th century, and splashes water on his face. Then he looks in the mirror...and sees what seems to be a liver spot. (One is apt to notice the smallest change after having the same reflection for over 200 years!) Not only that, he seems to have developed some wrinkles. Is he losing his immortality because he finally told his secret to somebody?