Quiz A Sorceress Comes to Call T. Kingfisher

A Sorceress Comes to Call Quiz

Quiz Questions

Plot and Sequence (Questions 1–8)

  1. Which horse reveals Cordelia’s secrets to Evangeline?
    a) Minnow
    b) Falada
    c) Dancer
    d) Penelope

  2. What is the name of the town where the Parker axe murder occurs? (Short answer)

  3. Which character commits suicide after being accused of murdering her maid?
    a) Evangeline
    b) Penelope Green
    c) Hester
    d) Lady Strauss

  4. What three elements are used in the ritual to break sorcery?
    a) Water, wine, and salt
    b) Water, bread, and wine
    c) Salt, oil, and wine
    d) Water, salt, and blood

  5. How does Cordelia first communicate with Penelope’s ghost? (Short answer)

  6. What does Evangeline use to force Cordelia’s obedience?
    a) Threats
    b) Magical obedience spell
    c) Physical force
    d) Emotional manipulation

  7. After the failed ritual on Falada, what happens to the horse’s head?
    a) It is buried
    b) It is burned
    c) It is kept as a trophy
    d) It disappears

  8. During the final ritual, who says “Tell everyone goodbye” to Cordelia?
    a) Evangeline
    b) Hester
    c) Penelope’s ghost
    d) Cordelia

Character Motivation (Questions 9–13)

  1. Why does Hester invite friends to the house party during Evangeline’s visit?
    a) To celebrate a holiday
    b) To provide witnesses for her safety
    c) To disrupt Evangeline’s manipulation of the Squire
    d) To find a husband for Cordelia

  2. Why does Cordelia decide not to tell Hester about Penelope’s ghost? (Short answer)

  3. What motivates Penelope Green to help Cordelia after her death?
    a) Revenge on Evangeline
    b) Guilt for her own actions
    c) Unfinished business
    d) She is drawn by the ritual and wants to stop Evangeline

  4. Why does Evangeline want to marry the Squire?
    a) She loves him
    b) To gain access to his wealth and position
    c) To escape a rival sorcerer
    d) To give Cordelia a father

  5. Why does Hester refuse Richard’s marriage proposal earlier in the story?
    a) She does not love him
    b) She fears public judgment due to their difference in appearance
    c) She is already married
    d) She wants to focus on Cordelia

Theme and Symbol (Questions 14–17)

  1. What does the motif of “closed doors” represent in the story?
    a) Cordelia’s longing for privacy and safety
    b) Evangeline’s control
    c) The danger of secrets
    d) The Squire’s home

  2. What do the geese symbolize in relation to Evangeline? (Short answer)

  3. According to Lady Strauss, what makes ground holy?
    a) Church consecration
    b) The presence of a sorcerer
    c) Belief accumulated over time
    d) A wedding ceremony

  4. What does Penelope Green say is more durable than beauty? (Short answer)

Synthesis (Questions 18–20)

  1. How does Cordelia’s relationship with Falada change after she learns he is Evangeline’s familiar?
    a) She trusts him more
    b) She feels betrayed and avoids him
    c) She tries to free him
    d) She uses him to spy on Evangeline

  2. In what way does Hester’s plan to save Cordelia also reflect her own fear of being judged by society? (Short answer – connect Hester’s refusal of Richard to the fake engagement plan)

  3. What does the voice of Penelope’s ghost saying “Tell everyone goodbye” foreshadow?
    a) Penelope’s final departure from the living world
    b) Cordelia’s death
    c) Evangeline’s death
    d) The end of magic

Answer Key

  1. b) Falada – In Chapter 3, Cordelia discovers that Falada is Evangeline’s familiar and has been reporting all her secrets.

  2. Little Haw – The newspaper report in Chapter 8 describes a horrific axe murder in Little Haw, and Cordelia faints upon reading it.

  3. b) Penelope Green – In Chapter 16, Penelope is found standing over her dead maid, accused of murder, and then leaps to her death from a balcony.

  4. a) Water, wine, and salt – The ritual discovered in Chapter 29 uses water, wine, and salt to “render the gold of sorcery into base human metal.”

  5. Through a telepathic or mental voice – In Chapter 23, Cordelia hears a voice in her head that turns out to be the ghost of Penelope Green.

  6. b) Magical obedience spell – From Chapter 1 onward, Evangeline uses magic to force Cordelia to remain still and obedient.

  7. b) It is burned – After the failed ritual in Chapter 31, Falada is killed and its head is burned.

  8. c) Penelope’s ghost – During the climax in Chapter 35, Cordelia hears Penelope’s voice say “Tell everyone goodbye” just before losing consciousness.

  9. c) To disrupt Evangeline’s manipulation of the Squire – Hester invites guests, including Lord Evermore and Mrs. Green, to create obstacles (see Chapters 10–12).

  10. Because she fears Hester might not believe her / it will strain credulity – In Chapter 24, Cordelia reasons that admitting she hears a ghost could make her other claims seem less credible.

  11. d) She is drawn by the ritual and wants to stop Evangeline – In Chapters 25 and 31, Penelope’s ghost offers to help, saying she was pulled back by the magic and wants to prevent further harm.

  12. b) To gain access to his wealth and position – Evangeline tells Cordelia in Chapter 2 that she needs a rich husband to support them; in Chapter 6 she pursues the Squire for his estate.

  13. b) She fears public judgment due to their difference in appearance – In Chapter 14, Hester explains she cannot accept Richard because she imagines people will mock them as an ill‑matched pair.

  14. a) Cordelia’s longing for privacy and safety – Throughout the book, Cordelia’s desire for closed doors (Chapter 1, 5) represents her wish for a space free from her mother’s control.

  15. They are guardians against evil magic / they ward against sorcerers – In Chapters 27 and 29, geese hiss at Falada and protect the house, symbolizing a natural defense against sorcery.

  16. c) Belief accumulated over time – In Chapter 13, Lady Strauss speculates that holy ground is made by the belief of many people over generations.

  17. Style – Penelope lectures in Chapter 15 that beauty is brittle, but style is durable and more valuable.

  18. b) She feels betrayed and avoids him – After learning Falada is her mother’s familiar in Chapter 3, Cordelia refuses to ride him and feels deep betrayal.

  19. Hester uses a fake engagement to give Cordelia a socially acceptable escape, while she herself turned down Richard because she dreaded public scrutiny over their appearance difference. Both choices involve using social performance to manage others’ judgments. – Supported by Chapters 21 and 14.

  20. a) Penelope’s final departure from the living world – The ghost’s farewell indicates she has fulfilled her purpose; Cordelia survives and later says goodbye at Penelope’s grave in Chapter 36.

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