Ratcatcher’s Daughter Chapter Questions

Chapter 11

1. What was the condition of Issy’s house when the family returned?- People had come
and cleaned the whole house out, throwing away anything rats could hide in and the
whole house was basically empty.

Chapter 12

1. What had Da decided to do with work?- He decided to, instead of rat catching for the
council, create his own business with Slippery Joe, promoting rat catching.
2. What did the girls find in the newspapers they were reading?- Ads stating these products
could help prevent the plague.
Who did the girls see when they were at the Town Hall?- Doctor John
3. Why do you think Kate was reluctant to talk to Doctor John about the advertisements?-
She liked Doctor John secretly.
4. What issue does Doctor John have with the authorities putting up the names of plague
victims each day?- That they always put up the deaths of the plague, but never about
serious diseases like the measles, and other ghastly conditions which so many people
die from each day.

Chapter 13

1. Who had Da gone into business with?- Slippery Joe

2. Slippery Joe makes some pretty racist comments on page 136. How do Issy and
Kate react? Do you think they agree with his views?- No, because they kept on
asking questions which doubted the idea of the Chinese introducing the plague.
3. What changes did Issy observe at the undertaking establishment after being away?-
Mr Lewis and Ben had said they weren’t that busy recently at the plague hospital,
but they were more busy than ever before. The departed ones also usually stayed at
home until the funeral. Now, Issy saw coffins being carried out of the establishment
all the time. Memento Mori also seemed strangely popular too.
4. What did Mr Lewis try to discourage Issy from doing?- Going down to the
Photographic Studio unless she was told too.
5. What had Kate been asked to do at her job and how did she feel about it?- She had
been asked if she could work more hours, to stay on top of cleaning the instruments
 and sheets. She’s really happy to be learning even more about nursing because that’s
her passion.
6. What had Dr Slade told Kate to tell Da about his work?- To make sure to be fully
clothed so that fleas can’t attack him.
7. How many rats did Da say had been killed in Brisbane so far?- At least 12 000 and
more that weren’t sent to the depots.
8. What are the two types of plague Kate describing and what is the difference
between them?- The bubonic plague and pneumonic plague. The pneumonic plague
spreads from human to human, whereas the bubonic plague spreads from fleas on
rats.
Where did Issy see the government steamer?- At North Quay
9. What did Issy notice about the coffin being loaded onto the boat and the clothes the
departed one’s family were wearing?- The coffin was top of the bunch and looked
very expensive and so did the clothes the family was wearing, although it was black.

Chapter 14

1. Where did the family go at the beginning of this chapter?- To a lecture run by Doctor
Lucas.
2. What did Mr Lewis ask Issy to do while he went out?- To sit in his office until the bell
rings and then tell them to wait in his office until Mr Lewis arrived.
3. What did Issy discover while Mr Lewis was out?- 3 coffins with people inside filled with
quicklime.

Chapter 15

1. Who did Issy and Ben run into on the way home that evening?- Mr Henderson and
Trudy.
2. What was Trudy’s reaction to Issy?- Scared, and unwilling as she tried to back away
from her.
3. What opportunity was Issy upset about not being able to take up?- a scholarship for high
school.
4. What did Kate reveal to Issy in this chapter?- her cracked hands.
5. In this chapter, Issy is torn because she sees one set of rules for the rich and another for
the poor. What insight does she gain about herself through these revelations?- that with
money you can influence other people.

Chapter 16
 1. What were Da’s symptoms?- coughing, flushed feeling, high temperatures.
2. What did Dr Slade diagnose Da with?- a severe case of the influenza
3. What did Da ask Issy to do?- take over his job as a ratcatcher until he got better.
4. After Da realised he would not be well enough for work on Monday, what did he suggest
to Issy?- that she take over his job.
5. What was Mr Stevens reaction when Issy turned up to do Da’s first job?- doubtful and
skeptical.
6. What did Issy change into to do the job? Why would this have been highly unusual?- she
wore trousers, boots, and a long-sleeved shirt or jacket, and to tie her hair up. Because,
she was a girl, in the olden days woman were supposed to dress fashionably in dresses,
so it was strange seeing a girl in men’s clothes.
7. How did Issy react once she was alone and it was all over?- she puked into the bag of
rats and felt lightheaded.
8. How did Mr Stevens describe Issy?- a sharp businesswoman.
9. How much extra did Mr Stevens include in his payment as a tip for Issy?- ten shillings
extra.
Chapter 17
1. Why was Issy actually enjoying ratcatching now?- she made a lot of money to put
towards her savings account so she could maybe go to high school.
2. What did Issy go back to Mr Henderson to talk about?- to ask if she was still eligible to
try to get a scholarship and if he could start teaching her classes again.
3. What was Issy’s goal? – to get a scholarship and earn enough money to cover the cost
when she goes to high school.
4. What huge news did Kate reveal at the end of this chapter?- Doctor Slade is dead.

Chapter 18

1. Where is the serum from that Kate tells Issy will cures the plague?- Paris, France
2. Where did Issy visit when she walked Kate part of the way to work?- the Lewis’
3. What advice did she give to the family while she was there?- to wear full protective
because dead bodies still carried the plague.

4. What did Issy come home to that afternoon after work?- Kate extremely sick.

Chapter 19

1. What woke them all up towards dawn?- Kate was hallucinating and ‘talking to Albert’.
2. What did Issy discover on Kate’s neck?- swellings
3. Where did Issy instantly run to?- Doctor John’s place.
4. What observation did Issy make about the relationship between Kate and Doctor John
on page 215?- Doctor John just thought of Kate as a clever girl who worked for their
family, and nothing more.
5. How many recorded cases of the plague had there been in Brisbane and how many
deaths?- 56 cases and 25 deaths.
6. What was Issy’s question about on her scholarship exam?- Oliver Twist
7. Did Issy get the scholarship?- Yes
8. What did Da reveal could happen because he was making so much money?- that Kate
could think seriously about studying to become a nurse.
9. What did Issy propose to Mr Lewis?- That after Issy graduates, they could hold a spot
for her if she wants to come back and work at the undertaking establishment again.