I like Murder She Wrote because of J.B. Fletcher’s advanced words and the educational names she mentions.
Fletcher’s intuition leads her to a man.
She says, “Mr. Lepinski?”
“That’s me.”
“I’m Jessica Fletcher.”
“The writer?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve read a couple of your books, lightweight but kind of fun.”
She said, “Thank you…I never claimed to be Dostoevski.” [Dah-stoh-YEFF-ski]
Her saying “Dostoevski” prompted me to look him up. Fedor Mikhailovich Dostoevski was a Moscow-born novelist. Poor Folk was his first novel, published in 1846 and written in the form of letters between two poor second cousins. The lives of the poor and their relationship with the rich are depicted.
Despite Dostoevski’s poverty, he produced more novels, one right after another, but the critics and much of the public were disappointed by them. He quarreled with liberal men of letters about their attitudes toward his work. Dostoevski and other members of a revolutionary group were seized, tried, and sentenced to hard labor in Siberia and life servitude in the army ranks. He had been commissioned in the army in 1841 but served only three years and made writing his profession.
No. 1
incipient (in-SIP-e-int)
A. beginning to become apparent
B. deviant
C. having the propensity to write
D. impoverished
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The Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia pointed out that despite poverty and insipient epilepsy, he produced several novels in rapid succession.
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No. 2
bogus (BO-guss)
A. money
B. fake
C. faux
D. ersatz
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As an added punishment, the authorities read a false death sentence to the young men and made bogus preparations to carry it out. In Siberia, Dostoevski’s group was under the illusion that they were sentenced to die; only after they watched the firing squad, who was standing by as if they were about to execute, did they learn that the death sentence was bogus.
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No. 3
exacerbate (ig-ZAH-sir-bate)
A. to militate
B. to announce
C. to worsen
D. to respect
The ordeal exacerbated Dostoevski’s epilepsy and for the rest of his life he suffered seizures of disabling intensity.
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No. 4
epistolary (e-pist-uh-LAR-e)
A. fustian
B. violent
C. a pale greenish-blue color
D. involving or consisting of writing letters
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Poor Folk is an epistolary novel about the two main characters.
Answers: A, B, C, and D respectively.
