Quiz A Study in Drowning Ava Reid

A Study in Drowning Quiz: 20 Questions to Test Your Knowledge

Welcome to our quiz on Ava Reid's novel A Study in Drowning. Test your knowledge of the plot, characters, themes, and symbols. This quiz includes 20 questions spanning the entire book. After you finish, check the answer key below. For more resources, explore the full book summary, questions and answers, and ending explained.

Plot and Sequence (8 questions)

  1. What fictional book provides the epigraph for the novel?

    • A. The Mariner's Demise
    • B. Angharad by Emrys Myrddin
    • C. The Fairy King
    • D. The Drowning

  2. Where does Effy first see the poster advertising the design contest for Hiraeth Manor? (Short answer)

  3. Why does Effy agree to help Preston with his thesis challenging Myrddin's authorship?

    • A. She wants to prove Myrddin wrote everything.
    • B. She is desperate for a future and sees the thesis as her only chance.
    • C. She wants to expose Ianto's crimes.
    • D. She believes Preston is a genius.

  4. What does Effy discover in the hidden room behind Ianto's bedroom?

    • A. Myrddin's diary and nude photographs of a young girl
    • B. A cache of weapons
    • C. The original manuscript of Angharad
    • D. A secret passage to the sea

  5. How does Ianto capture Preston before the climax? (Short answer)

  6. What object does Effy use to defeat the Fairy King in the climax?

    • A. An iron knife
    • B. A hag stone
    • C. A mirror shard
    • D. Myrddin's diary

  7. Who is revealed to be the true author of the works attributed to Emrys Myrddin? (Short answer)

  8. What condition does Effy demand from Dean Fogg to have her thesis accepted? (Short answer)

Character Motivation (5 questions)

  1. Why does Effy accept the invitation to Hiraeth Manor?

    • A. To research Myrddin for a school project
    • B. To escape Master Corbenic and the sexist environment at Caer-Isel
    • C. To prove her architectural skills to her mother
    • D. To meet Preston Héloury

  2. What motivates Preston to investigate Myrddin's authorship?

    • A. His family history with Myrddin
    • B. His academic ambition and commitment to truth
    • C. His rivalry with Effy
    • D. His desire to destroy the Myrddin legacy

  3. Why does Ianto chain Preston in the basement?

    • A. To punish him for stealing the key
    • B. To use him as a foundation sacrifice to stop the house from sinking
    • C. To force Effy to cooperate
    • D. To reenact a scene from Myrddin's poetry

  4. Why does Effy's mother refuse to let her return home after her arrival in Saltney? (Short answer)

  5. Why did Angharad Myrddin set traps and use iron at Hiraeth Manor? (Short answer)

Theme and Symbol (4 questions)

  1. What does the sea primarily symbolize in the novel?

    • A. Freedom and adventure
    • B. Slow decay, drowning, and the erasure of truth
    • C. The power of nature over humanity
    • D. Female sexuality

  2. What do the hag stones represent in Effy's journey?

    • A. A barrier against the supernatural
    • B. The ability to see hidden truths, including the Fairy King's true form
    • C. A connection to her childhood
    • D. A tool for architectural design

  3. What does the flooded basement archive symbolize? (Short answer)

  4. The line "The only enemy is the sea" from the poem suggests what danger? (Short answer)

Synthesis (3 questions)

  1. Compare Effy and Preston's attitudes toward the supernatural. How do their views change and converge? (Short answer)

  2. How does the novel address the theme of female authorship and erasure? (Short answer)

  3. What symbolic role does the mirror play in the climax and Effy's character arc? (Short answer)

Answer Key

  1. B - The epigraph is from the fictional book Angharad by Emrys Myrddin. It sets up themes of identity and the rejection of artificial imagery. (Outline ch1)

  2. At her architecture college - Effy sees the poster while being rushed by another student and copies the address. (Outline ch2)

  3. B - Effy agrees because she is desperate for a future after her trauma at Caer-Isel. Preston offers coauthorship and a chance to challenge the ban on women in literature college. (Outline ch6)

  4. A - In the hidden room, they find Myrddin's diary and nude photographs of a young girl, revealing his exploitation. (Outline ch9)

  5. He chains him in the basement as a foundation sacrifice - Ianto reenacts a myth to stop the house from sinking. (Outline ch15)

  6. C - Effy uses a mirror shard to reflect the Fairy King's image, causing him to wither. (Outline ch15)

  7. Angharad Myrddin - The widow is the true author; her works were stolen by her husband, his father, and his publisher. (Outline ch16)

  8. Admission to the literature college and the firing of Master Corbenic - Dean Fogg reluctantly agrees to both. (Outline ch17)

  9. B - Effy leaves Caer-Isel to escape Master Corbenic's abuse and the institutional sexism that expects her to fail. (Outline ch2-3)

  10. B - Preston's motivation is his academic ambition and his commitment to uncovering the truth, believing Myrddin's authorship is fraudulent. (Outline ch6)

  11. B - Ianto chains Preston as a foundation offering to appease the Fairy King and stop the house from sinking. (Outline ch15)

  12. She dismisses Effy's problems and tells her to take her medication - This leaves Effy trapped at Hiraeth. (Outline ch5)

  13. To contain the Fairy King - Angharad used traps and iron because the Fairy King possessed her husband and later her son. (Outline ch16)

  14. B - The sea symbolizes slow decay, the Drowning, and the erasure of truth, as seen in the sinking house and submerged archives. (Outline ch6, ch8)

  15. B - Hag stones allow Effy to see the Fairy King's true form, revealing the supernatural truth hidden from ordinary sight. (Outline ch15)

  16. The submerged truth about Myrddin's authorship and the secrets buried in the house - The archive represents hidden history that must be retrieved. (Outline ch4)

  17. Underestimating nature and ignoring internal decay - The line warns that focusing only on external threats can let destruction creep in unnoticed. (Outline ch4)

  18. Effy starts believing in the Fairy King; Preston is a skeptical academic. After the supernatural events, Effy uses her belief to defeat the Fairy King, while Preston accepts the reality but remains grounded. Their trust in each other bridges their worldviews. (Outline ch10-15)

  19. The novel shows how Angharad's work was stolen by men, and Effy faces similar silencing in architecture. Both women eventually demand recognition and reclaim their voices. (Outline ch16-17)

  20. The mirror defeats the Fairy King by reflecting his true self, and later shows Effy her own face, symbolizing her survival, reclaimed identity, and the end of gaslighting. (Outline ch15-16)