The Charm of "The Charm School" Quiz

Answer: Traveling across the country in his Trans Am

Gregory Fisher had always wanted to take a road trip across Russia in a muscle car; the trip was a gift from his parents after he graduated from business school. Greg personified some of the best America had to offer: intelligent, good-natured, well-educated, generous, and well-intended. He was thoroughly enjoying the trip until he literally took a wrong turn.

Answer: Spy for the military

Many of the characters in "The Charm School" are spies, though they hold other titles. Hollis was a pilot in the Vietnam War, and was posted in Russia to serve as the official liaison between the American Air Force and the Red Air Force. He is called upon to help when Gregory Fisher goes missing. Hollis is similar to many of DeMille's heroes: brave, handsome, and taciturn.

Answer: Her grandmother was Russian and Lisa studied it in school

Lisa learned to speak Russian at her grandmother's knee, and was very fond of pre-Soviet Russia, especially non-Muscovites. As a public information officer, she was responsible for creating cultural ties between the Soviet Union and the United States, with such events as Van Halen concerts.

Answer: She was the duty officer when Fisher called

Every night at the American Embassy, one of the senior employees was the designated Duty Officer, responsible for staying alert in case a political or diplomatic problem arose. Lisa was on duty the night Fisher's call for help came in.

Answer: Seth Alevy

Seth Alevy was a rather mysterious, shadowy figure in the story, sometimes the good guy, sometimes maybe not. He put his mission with the CIA above everything else except perhaps Lisa. We don't learn much about him except he was from Philadelphia, attended Princeton, and was determined to collect damaging information against the Soviets.

He and Lisa had been an item, but she had recently stopped seeing him when the novel opened.

Answer: A school designed to make Russian spies pass as Americans

For years, American spies had heard rumors of a training facility where Russians would learn American English and customs in order to infiltrate American society. The premise is similar to that of the television show "The Americans", but the book was published 25 years before the show appeared. What was particularly horrible about the Charm School was that the teachers were Americans the Russians had kidnapped, including some POWs from the Vietnam War.

They were forced to teach the students against their wills.

Answer: She looked him up and down assertively

A young Soviet man was partway through his training to look and talk like an American, and he was fairly convincing. But then Lisa looked him up and down in an aggressive, provocative manner, and he immediately blushed and, suddenly self-conscious and nervous, he was unable to maintain his American facade.

Answer: His Trans Am

The Russian-made cars portrayed in the story are rather underpowered, in contrast to Greg's Trans Am which likely had 220 horsepower. Burov drove it around the Charm School, spinning up gravel and angering the Americans. It served as an important part of their getaway later, however.

Answer: A family's house in a small village

Lisa and Hollis had been instructed to stay at a collective, but instead they found a small village, the closest they came to seeing real Russians as opposed to politically-minded Soviet officials. Despite the danger, the family opened their home to Lisa and Sam, gave them food and vodka, and enjoyed their company along with other villagers. That night, the couple even gave up their own bed to give it to their guests.

Answer: A list of all Americans who had been held at the Charm School

The list of Americans who were captured by the Soviets to populate the teaching staff at the Charm School was long. It started with pilots captured by the North Vietnamese military during the Vietnam War, and, later, included American tourists visiting Russia or Finland. Hollis wanted to make sure the American government learned what happened to all the missing people, though he had little hope it would make a difference in the long run.