The Thirsk University Challenge - The official quiz book based on the Chronicles of St Mary’s series by Jodi Taylor
Interview with compiler Christopher Boote - the Jodiworld Quiz Master
How did the idea for The Thirsk University Challenge come about - was it something you’d been plotting for a while, or did it grow out of your role as Jodiworld’s resident quiz master?
I’ve always been fond of quizzes, and own many quiz books. I’d recently written a lot of quiz questions for Jodiworld, and remembered Dave Langford’s much-loved Discworld quiz books - the idea of a Jodiworld one (or two, or three …) seemed an obvious project to attempt.
How closely did you work with Jodi Taylor while putting the book together - were there any moments when she caught you out with a particularly tricky St Mary’s detail?
Yes, there was one reference that I can’t believe I didn’t realise—without wishing to give it away, there’s a theme about some of Director Pinkerton’s staff that I only half spotted. I felt very dim-witted when she explained the real connection.
The Chronicles of St Mary’s books are famous for their mix of history, chaos, and humour. How did you capture that spirit in quiz form without making it too easy for the fans who know every word by heart?
I mixed history, chaos, and humour … But seriously, I used as many of Jodi’s words as possible to capture the humour, while the chaos and history fall naturally into place when using the escapades of St Mary’s own disaster magnets as question fodder.
Were there any questions or historical facts you had to leave out because they were just too obscure, or maybe too mischievous?
I don’t think I consciously left anything out for those reasons - some books had so many more potential questions than others, that I had to shave off the ones I considered sillier or just too hard - and Jodi was unsure about the mischief involved in one answer. Still, given it’s a direct quote from the relevant book, it stayed in.
What has been the biggest challenge in turning such a rich and beloved fictional world into a quiz book - was it balancing humour and difficulty, or deciding which events and characters to include?
The humour is inherent in the subject matter. I started by including everything, then sorted by my perception of their difficulty. When some books lead to too many questions, I chopped off the questions at the ‘difficult’ end - which was hard, as they were usually my favourite questions. Maybe one day they’ll make it into a Clive Ronan Evil Mastermind mini-book ...
Can you give us a little tease—what kinds of rounds or themes can readers expect? For example, will there be sections like “Markham’s Mayhem” or “Temporal Trivia”?
After a lot of discussion, we decided to avoid spoilers for people who haven’t read every book yet (shocking, I know): each book and short story would have its own chapter. I threw in a few extra chapters on St Mary’s itself, Max, and some historical questions, but that’s remained the book's general shape from very early on.
Jodiworld fans are famously competitive. Have you secretly designed the quiz to settle a few long-running debates among them once and for all?
There may be a question or two that point out some differences between our history and St Mary’s ...
The St Mary’s books are filled with time travel and historical disasters. If you could visit one of those moments in person — strictly as an observer, of course — which would you choose?
My knowledge of history was already fairly broad, so it would probably be one of the places that I had to read up on after encountering them in a book - The Gates of Grief, Amy Robsart’s death, Julius Caesar’s misuse of his wife’s house … (trying desperately not to answer any questions here)
But is it possible to be strictly an observer? It seems to me that History in Jodi’s books sees observers as annoying grit in the smooth running of Time’s machine, to be eradicated in messy and chaotic ways!
You’ve been part of the St Mary’s fandom for years. What has it been like to go from fan to official collaborator, with your own name on a book connected to the series?
It’s rather surreal still. Terry Pratchett once said he wouldn’t believe in the Hogfather TV series until he was sitting watching it, popcorn in hand; I feel similarly about the quiz book.
Of course, once it’s real, and a physical object in my hand, I’ll have to put it aside and plough on with book two, concerning the Time Police and Smallhope and Pennyroyal. A third book, including the Elizabeth Cage books, the Frogmorton Farm series and the Bachelor Establishment book, will be released after that.
Finally, what do you hope fans will take away from The Thirsk University Challenge - should they see it as a bit of fun, a test of their St Mary’s knowledge, or something that deepens their love for Jodi’s world?
Oh, definitely all three, in ascending order of importance. I hope that everyone gets at least one answer right that they don’t know how they knew, and one wrong that they thought they knew they knew, and it drives them to pick up the books yet again.
Thank you, Christopher, for all your work on this book and the ones to come. I know Jodi’s fans are going to love it!
Available in full-colour hardback, paperback and ebook from 13th November. Buy direct from the publishers who print in UK, USA, Canada and Australia.
Think you know everything about St Mary’s? It’s time to prove it.
Step into the riotous world of Jodi Taylor’s Chronicles of St Mary’s with this ultimate fan quiz book. Packed with hundreds of questions covering every novel and short story in the series, The Thirsk University Challenge will put even the most devoted readers to the test.
Featuring hundreds of questions ranging from surprisingly straightforward to maddeningly obscure. Test your knowledge of beloved (and occasionally bewildering) characters, catastrophic assignments, and the gloriously unpredictable timelines they inhabit. From incendiary research departments and historically inaccurate field trips to questionable tea breaks and time-travel chaos, every detail is fair game.
Whether you’re reading solo, challenging fellow fans, or revising before your next temporal excursion, this book is the perfect way to relive your favourite moments and test your St Mary’s knowledge.
Spoiler Alert
This quiz book contains questions referencing the entire Chronicles of St Mary’s series, including major plot points, character arcs, and historical escapades. If you haven’t read them all—consider this your temporal health warning.
This book is ideal for:
Long-time St Mary’s fans
Book clubs and trivia nights
Readers who love history, time travel, and mayhem
So let the challenge begin. But remember—historians do not play fair…
Available in full-colour hardback, paperback and ebook from 13th November. Buy direct from the publishers who print in UK, USA, Canada and Australia.
Paperback bundle offer - save 20% when youbuy the quiz book and St Mary’s companion guide together. CLICK HERE
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