Literature Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 388
Which novel by Sylvia Plath was originally published under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas?
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bell jar
In which Shakespeare play do Cordelia's first words include 'What shall Cordelia speak? Love, and be silent'?
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king lear
Who is the author of the 1880s novel 'The Bostonians', where Mrs. Luna states 'Nobody tells fibs in Boston' in chapter one?
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henry james
Which author had a newsletter titled 'Castle Rock' devoted to him?
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stephen king
What is the last name of the fictional sisters named Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy?
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march
Which British author based the character Adam Bede on her own father?
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george eliot
Which contemporary author penned the famous line 'Love means never having to say you're sorry'?
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erich segal
In which novel is Winston Smith employed at the Ministry of Truth to alter public records?
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1984
Which literary figure describes her friendships with notable individuals like Picasso and Hemingway in 'The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas'?
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gertrude stein
What is the title of the Edward Albee play where the first line spoken is 'I've been to the zoo'?
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zoo story
What 1965 Arthur Hailey bestseller is set in the elegant St. Gregory?
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hotel
What is the name of the ever-optimistic heroine in Eleanor Hodgman Porter's 1913 novel?
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pollyanna
Who is the graduate of the University of New Hampshire that published 'The Hotel New Hampshire' in 1981?
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john irving
Who is the author that wrote a biography of his grandfather, the artist Ford Madox Brown?
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ford madox ford
In a classic Hemingway story, who are the title characters plotting against Ole Andreson?
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killers
What is the title of Arthur Golden's book about Sayuri, a Japanese artisan, in his 'Memoirs of...'?
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geisha
In which F. Scott Fitzgerald novel does Daisy Buchanan accidentally run over and kill Myrtle Wilson?
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great gatsby
In which novel does Mr. Bumble end up as a pauper in the same workhouse where he once held a high position?
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oliver twist
Who wrote the original 'The Pilgrim's Progress'?
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john bunyan
Which author wrote 'The Honourable Laura' and 'The First Countess of Wessex,' stories found in the book 'A Group of Noble Dames'?
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thomas hardy
According to Percy Bysshe Shelley, if winter comes, what season can not be far behind?
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spring
What is the title of the 1977 novel that focuses on Meggie's love for the priest Ralph de Bricassart?
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thorn birds
Which woman, known for co-founding the Algonquin Round Table, won an O. Henry Award for her story 'Big Blonde'?
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dorothy parker
Who is the Irish author of the collection of short stories titled 'Dubliners'?
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james joyce
Which month is the focus of Elizabeth von Arnim's 1922 novel titled 'Enchanted' that has been adapted into films twice?
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april
Who is the author whose book 'North and South' ends with a 1787 antislavery quote by George Mason of Virginia?
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john jakes
In which Ibsen play does the title character meet a troll king and avoid being melted?
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peer gynt
Which Scottish novelist is buried at the summit of Mt. Vaea on Upolu, an island of Western Samoa?
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robert louis stevenson
Who is the author of the 1998 novel 'Aphrodite: A Memoir Of The Senses'?
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isabel allende
Which poet was referred to as 'Saint Ben' in Robert Herrick's 'Prayer to' him?
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ben jonson
Who is the author of 20th century novels featuring the character Manfred de Spain, including 'The Town', 'The Mansion', and 'The Reivers'?
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william faulkner
Who wrote the play 'Clothes for a Summer Hotel' about Zelda Fitzgerald?
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tennessee williams
Who is the author of 'Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,' which is an official text of Christian Science?
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mary baker eddy
In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', what type of character is Mustardseed?
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fairy
Which author returned to his roots in 1997 by publishing 'Wobegon Boy'?
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garrison keillor
In which state was Larry McMurtry born in 1936 and sets many of his novels?
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texas
Who wrote the novel 'Even Cowgirls Get the Blues' which features the character Sissy Hankshaw with humongous thumbs?
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tom robbins
In which Shakespeare play do witches chant, 'Eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog'?
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macbeth
Who is the Welsh poet whose work 'A Child's Christmas in Wales' was published in 1955, two years posthumously?
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dylan thomas
What is the name of the teenage girl in Shakespeare's work who has Tybalt as her first cousin?
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juliet
Which Quaker poet authored 'Snowbound,' a story about a Quaker family trapped in their farmhouse during a blizzard?
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john greenleaf whittier
Which author, known for 'The Leather-Stocking Tales,' also wrote the lesser-known novel 'Mercedes of Castile'?
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james fenimore cooper
In Dickens' novel about Little Nell, what is the title of the shop that gets torn down by the end?
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old curiosity shop
Which author, who passed away in 1961, did not complete another novel after 'The Thin Man' was published in 1934?
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dashiell hammett
In an H.G. Wells novel, a man uses what device to spend 8 days in the future?
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time machine
Which author dedicated 'The Winds of War' 'With Love to my sons Nathaniel and Joseph'?
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herman wouk
Which poet wrote the sonnet titled 'On His Blindness,' also known as 'When I Consider How My Light Is Spent'?
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john milton
In which country was Isak Dinesen's life as a coffee plantation owner, which inspired the book 'Out of Africa', based?
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kenya
What is the title of the 1667 epic by John Milton that gained more reputation than its 1671 sequel?
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paradise lost
Who is the author that wrote a collection of short stories about a traveling saleswoman several years before publishing 'So Big'?
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edna ferber
Which author, apart from Rudyard Kipling, is known for creating the character Holly Golightly?
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truman capote
Who is the author of the quote in 'Candide,' 'If this is the best of possible worlds, what then are the others?'
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voltaire
Which George Orwell novel features a pig named Snowball who is known for his idealistic views?
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animal farm
Which French author published a new novel each year for 35 consecutive years, including 'From the Earth to the Moon'?
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jules verne
Which language is John Milton considered the last major European writer to have written poetry in?
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latin
Which American author wrote stories about a 20-year sleeper and a ghost rider, inspired by German folktales?
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washington irving
Which Pulitzer & Nobel prize-winning novelist had a home in pre-Castro Cuba named 'Finca Vigia'?
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ernest hemingway
Who is the author of the 1993 novel 'A Dead Man in Deptford' and also wrote 'A Clockwork Orange'?
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anthony burgess
Who is the author of 'The Newcomes', where Clive is an art student in love with his cousin Ethel?
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william makepeace thackeray
Who is Stradlater's roommate at Pencey Prep in 'The Catcher in the Rye'?
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holden caulfield