Classic Literature Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 185
Which title character was described by Dickens as being 'born at Blunderstone, in Suffolk' and as a 'posthumous child'?
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david copperfield
Which author wrote 14 books about Oz and also some short stories?
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l. frank baum
Who is the physician that Miss Mary Morstan marries in several Sherlock Holmes stories?
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dr. watson
Which novel contains the line: 'If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face -- forever'?
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1984
In which Dickens novel does the character Jack Dawkins, also known as the Artful Dodger, appear?
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oliver twist
In the poem by Robert Burns, 'Gin a body meet a body', what is the body coming through?
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rye
Which author is known for creating the fictional town of Middlemarch?
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george eliot
Which 1844 Dumas novel tells the story of the adventures of Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan?
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three musketeers
Which novel features a title character who spends his early childhood with his mother and their servant Clara Peggotty?
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david copperfield
Who is the author of the 1720's novel 'The Adventures of Captain Singleton' that followed 'Robinson Crusoe'?
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daniel defoe
Which famous wild horse from Arabia was introduced in a 1941 book by Walter Farley?
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black stallion
What is the title of the 1871 sequel subtitled 'Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys'?
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little men
What is the title of the Edmund Spenser work that begins with 'The Legend of the Knight of the Red Cross'?
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faerie queene
Who is the character that, despite being married to Alexei, falls in love with Count Vronsky in a famous novel?
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anna karenina
In which Kipling story do Peachy Carnahan and Daniel Dravitt plan to make themselves kings of Kafiristan?
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man who would be king
What is the title of the Kipling story where two comic adventurers become the godlike leaders of an Afghan tribe?
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man who would be king
In which Sir Walter Scott classic is the beautiful Rebecca carried off by Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert?
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ivanhoe
In which novel does a character named Emma take poison after exhausting her husband's inheritance on a love affair?
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madame bovary
Which author passed away in 1924 without finishing 'The Trial' and 'The Castle'?
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franz kafka
Which literary character is known as a bored French housewife who commits adultery, incurs substantial debt, and eventually takes her own life?
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madame bovary
In what fictional country created by Samuel Butler is the goddess Ydgrun worshipped?
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erewhon
In which Orwell novel is the Ministry of Peace, also known as Minipax, responsible for war?
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1984
Which R.D. Blackmore novel, set in Exmoor, Somerset, starts in the year 1673?
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lorna doone
What 1932 Pearl Buck novel was dramatized by Owen and Donald Davis?
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good earth
In a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, what title insignia does Arthur Dimmesdale reveal to bear on his chest?
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scarlet letter
By the age of 13, in which novel by Somerset Maugham is Philip Carey a student at the King's School in Tercanbury?
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of human bondage
What type of wild animal is Shere Khan in 'The Jungle Book'?
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tiger
Who is the governess brought to Thornfield Manor to care for Rochester's ward, Adele Varens?
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jane eyre
What is the name of the deer in the 1923 novel by Felix Salten, which was originally intended for adults as well as children?
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bambi
In Charles Dickens' novel 'Great Expectations', who is the spinster guardian of Estella, the woman Pip falls in love with?
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miss havisham
Which novel begins with the line, 'All happy families are alike but an unhappy family is unhappy after its own fashion'?
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anna karenina
Who is the evil hypnotist introduced by George Du Maurier in his 1894 novel 'Trilby'?
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svengali
Which book by Anna Sewell may have inspired the horse-narrated story 'Moorland Mousie'?
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black beauty
Who is the author of 'The Sketch Book' where Rip Van Winkle's tale appears?
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washington irving
Who is the author of 'Joseph Andrews' that wrote a preface to his sister Sarah's novel, 'The Adventures of David Simple'?
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henry fielding
Which 17th-century playwright's romantic troubles inspired him to write 'The School for Husbands' and 'The School for Wives'?
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molière
In which Somerset Maugham novel does the 18-year-old Philip Carey move to Heidelberg?
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of human bondage
Who is the author of 'The Mansion', the third novel in the Snopes trilogy featuring Flem Snopes' stepdaughter Linda?
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william faulkner
In which novel does the character Bill Sikes, known as a violent roughneck, appear?
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oliver twist
In which Sir Walter Scott novel does Wamba, a courageous jester, endanger his life to save his master Cedric?
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ivanhoe
Which author may have published 'The Vicar Of Wakefield' to avoid being imprisoned for debt?
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oliver goldsmith
What Evelyn Waugh novel is subtitled 'The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'?
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brideshead revisited
What 1906 novel is set in Packingtown, the nickname for Chicago's Union Stockyards?
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jungle
What 1897 H.G. Wells novel begins with its title character completely wrapped up from head to foot?
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invisible man
In which Boris Pasternak novel does Chapter 2, part 4 reveal that Lara was only a little over sixteen but well developed?
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doctor zhivago
Who is the author of the 1820s novel 'The Prairie', in which Paul Hover is a bee hunter who eventually becomes a congressman?
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james fenimore cooper
In which well-loved novel does Laurie's wealthy grandfather give Beth her own piano?
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little women
In 'Through the Looking-Glass,' which character did Alice find puzzling because she couldn't tell if he was wearing a cravat or a belt?
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humpty dumpty
In an 1818 novel, who pursues his creation to the North Pole where they both die?
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frankenstein
In the title of a 1927 Willa Cather novel, who does 'Death Comes for'?
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archbishop
Which novel begins with the line, 'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen'?
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1984
Which author had his 'End of the Chapter' trilogy published posthumously, concluding his 'Forsyte Saga'?
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john galsworthy
What is both the setting and the title of Charles Dickens' novel featuring Little Nell?
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old curiosity shop
What classic animal tale was created by Walter Farley in 1941?
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black stallion
Which playwright's character in 'Candida' claims, 'I'm only a beer teetotaler, not a champagne teetotaler'?
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george bernard shaw
In which novel does the character Quilp say, 'What a pretty little Nell!'?
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old curiosity shop
Who is the author of 'The Pilgrim's Progress' where Apollyon is described as a 'foul fiend'?
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john bunyan
What is the title of Charles Dickens' last complete novel, which refers to a shared pal?
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our mutual friend
In which parish does Dr. Primrose serve as vicar in an Oliver Goldsmith work?
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wakefield
What is the name of the lengthy work by Eugene O'Neill that is partly based on the Oresteia of Aeschylus?
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mourning becomes electra