Darling Girls Book Quiz
Whether you’ve just finished the book or you’re preparing for a discussion, this 20‑question quiz covers the major twists, character decisions, and symbols in Sally Hepworth’s Darling Girls. Each question is designed to test your recall and understanding of the story. The answer key with brief explanations appears after all questions.
Quiz
Note: Some questions are multiple‑choice; others are short‑answer. Write your answer in your own words where indicated.
1. (Plot/Sequence – Multiple Choice)
What discovery forces Jessica, Norah, and Alicia to return to Port Agatha?
- A) A letter from Miss Fairchild
- B) Human remains found during excavation at Wild Meadows
- C) A newspaper article about a missing child
- D) A police warrant for their arrest
2. (Plot/Sequence – Multiple Choice)
Which sister acts as Miss Fairchild’s informant, telling her the others plan to report the abuse?
- A) Norah
- B) Jessica
- C) Alicia
- D) Zara
3. (Plot/Sequence – Short Answer)
What item does Jessica steal from a client’s home, leading to professional and personal trouble?
4. (Plot/Sequence – Multiple Choice)
What is the name of the toddler whom Miss Fairchild tries to adopt, and who later turns out to be the living child Zara?
- A) Rhiannon
- B) Bianca
- C) Amy
- D) Theo
5. (Plot/Sequence – Multiple Choice)
After the sisters report Miss Fairchild to the school principal, why does the police investigation stall?
- A) The girls change their story
- B) No record of Amy exists, and Dirk denies knowing her
- C) Miss Fairchild pays off the officers
- D) The bones are identified as animal remains
6. (Plot/Sequence – Short Answer)
In the final chapters, whose body is revealed to have been buried under Wild Meadows for about 50 years?
7. (Plot/Sequence – Multiple Choice)
What does Jessica do when she learns her sisters know she was the informant?
- A) She runs away
- B) She overdoses on Valium
- C) She confesses to the police
- D) She attacks Miss Fairchild
8. (Plot/Sequence – Multiple Choice)
How does Norah prevent Kevin from pressing assault charges against her?
- A) She pays him a large sum of money
- B) She sends him a nude photo and offers to pay medical expenses
- C) She files a counter‑complaint
- D) She has her lawyer threaten him
9. (Character Motivation – Short Answer)
Why does Miss Fairchild take in so many foster babies, especially after Amy’s departure?
10. (Character Motivation – Multiple Choice)
Why does Norah punch Kevin during their date in Chapter 2?
- A) He insults her
- B) He follows her after she ends the call about Wild Meadows
- C) He refuses to help her with handyman work
- D) He threatens to call the police
11. (Character Motivation – Multiple Choice)
What motivates Alicia to work in child protection and eventually adopt Aaron and Theo?
- A) A desire for a stable career
- B) Her own traumatic experience in foster care and a wish to provide a safe home
- C) Pressure from Meera
- D) Financial incentives from the state
12. (Character Motivation – Short Answer)
Why does Jessica resist reporting Miss Fairchild’s abuse for so many years?
13. (Character Motivation – Multiple Choice)
What is Miss Fairchild’s primary motive for fostering children, according to the later revelations?
- A) Financial gain from government payments
- B) A genuine love of children
- C) Replacing her own dead daughter and finding unconditional love
- D) To gain social status in the community
14. (Theme/Symbol – Short Answer)
What does the pinkie promise made by the three sisters represent in the story?
15. (Theme/Symbol – Multiple Choice)
The doll found in the basement with “AMY” stitched on its chest symbolizes which of the following?
- A) Miss Fairchild’s craftsmanship
- B) The erasure of a real child and the false narrative the sisters must overcome
- C) A toy that Amy loved
- D) The police’s failure to investigate
16. (Theme/Symbol – Short Answer)
What does the horse-riding episode in Chapter 20 reveal about the sisters’ relationship with Miss Fairchild?
17. (Theme/Symbol – Multiple Choice)
The motif of “being buried” appears both literally (the body under the house) and figuratively. Which character’s experience best illustrates the figurative burial of truth?
- A) Detective Patel’s
- B) Norah’s
- C) Jessica’s
- D) Dirk’s
18. (Synthesis – Short Answer)
How does the novel use the character of Zara (formerly believed to be Amy) to comment on identity and family?
19. (Synthesis – Multiple Choice)
Which outcome best reflects the theme of chosen family versus biological family in the story?
- A) Jessica reconciles with her biological mother at the end
- B) The three sisters remain bonded as adults, and Alicia builds a new family with Meera, Aaron, and Theo
- C) Miss Fairchild is forgiven and welcomed back
- D) Norah marries Ishir and cuts ties with her sisters
20. (Synthesis – Short Answer)
How does Jessica’s pregnancy in the epilogue symbolize a new beginning for her, especially in contrast to her childhood?
Answer Key
1. B – Human remains found during excavation at Wild Meadows. The discovery forces the sisters to return and confront the past. (Outline ch. 1–4)
2. B – Jessica. She reveals the sisters’ plan to report Miss Fairchild, leading to Amy’s disappearance. (Ch. 49)
3. A bottle of Valium (or pills). Jessica steals Valium from client Debbie Montgomery‑Squires. (Ch. 1)
4. C – Amy. The toddler Miss Fairchild tries to adopt is Amy, who later as an adult reveals herself as Zara. (Ch. 32, 55)
5. B – No record of Amy exists, and Dirk denies knowing her. The police find no evidence of Amy’s existence. (Ch. 36, 41)
6. Miss Fairchild’s own baby half‑sister (a female infant, about 50 years old). Holly Fairchild killed her and her mother buried the body. (Ch. 57, 60)
7. B – She overdoses on Valium. Overcome with guilt, Jessica attempts suicide. (Ch. 50, 52)
8. B – She sends him a nude photo and offers to pay medical expenses. Norah uses her body as leverage. (Ch. 7, 15)
9. She is trying to replace her dead daughter and find a child who will give her unconditional love. Each baby disappoints her. (Ch. 22, 57)
10. B – He follows her after she ends the call about Wild Meadows. Norah is distressed and punches him. (Ch. 2)
11. B – Her own traumatic foster‑care experience and desire to provide a safe home. She later adopts Aaron and Theo. (Ch. 10, 59)
12. She fears losing her sisters, feels ashamed, and still craves Miss Fairchild’s approval. She also represses the trauma. (Ch. 4, 46)
13. C – Replacing her own dead daughter and finding unconditional love. She admits this to Jessica in the epilogue. (Ch. 57)
14. The sisterhood pact and chosen family. It signifies that the three girls commit to protecting each other despite their abusive environment. (Ch. 18)
15. B – The erasure of a real child and the false narrative the sisters must overcome. The doll is a physical marker of a hidden truth. (Ch. 32, 34)
16. It shows the sisters’ brief rebellion and the cruel punishment Miss Fairchild inflicts (locking Norah in the basement). It illustrates how any act of joy is met with control. (Ch. 20)
17. C – Jessica’s. She buries the truth about being the informant and later about her addiction and pregnancy. Her psychological burial of facts parallels the physical body. (Ch. 46, 49, 50)
18. It shows that identity is not fixed by records or names; Zara was always Amy but was adopted and renamed. Family can be built through love rather than blood or documentation. (Ch. 55, 59)
19. B – The three sisters remain bonded, and Alicia builds a new family with Meera, Aaron, and Theo. This reflects the theme that chosen family can heal trauma. (Ch. 59)
20. Jessica’s pregnancy represents hope and breaking the cycle of abuse. Unlike her own traumatic birth in the basement, she now can raise her son in a loving, open relationship with Phil. (Ch. 57, 58)