Literature Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 409
What, according to Carl Sandburg, 'sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on'?
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fog
What novel begins with the line, 'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen'?
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1984
What type of machine is referred to in the title of Tracy Kidder's nonfiction work 'The Soul of a New Machine'?
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computer
Who wrote the Nebraska-set novel 'O Pioneers!' while living in Greenwich Village?
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willa cather
In which Charles Dickens novel do the characters Uncle Pumblechook, Mr. Wopsle, and Miss Havisham appear?
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great expectations
Which author of 'Invisible Man' was named after the transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson?
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ralph ellison
Which author wrote the 1925 novel 'An American Tragedy,' which was based on a real life murder case?
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theodore dreiser
In the epic poem 'Beowulf', which monster does Beowulf defeat by tearing off its arm?
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grendel
What Homeric war epic did Casanova translate in 1775, aside from writing his popular autobiography?
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iliad
Who is the legendary king featured in Tennyson's 'Idylls of the King'?
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king arthur
Which author began an unfinished novel titled 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' that opens in an opium den?
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charles dickens
Who wrote 'The great thing about the dead, they make space' in 'Rabbit is Rich'?
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john updike
What is the nickname of the British fictional hero Hugh Drummond?
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bulldog
What animal created Narnia according to the fantasy series by C.S. Lewis?
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lion
Who is the prolific author whose 1988 bestseller 'Zoya' is set before and after the Russian Revolution?
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danielle steel
In which Charles Dickens novel does Pip discover that his benefactor is Abel Magwitch?
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great expectations
What 2-letter pronoun was used as the title of Charles A. Lindbergh's 1927 autobiography?
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we
In Robert W. Service's poem 'Spell of the Yukon', what metal did the author want and seek?
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gold
Which author wrote the scary novella that Susannah York taped an audio version of, titled 'The Turn of the Screw'?
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henry james
In Shakespeare's play 'Macbeth', what amphibian's eye is included as an ingredient in the witches' brew?
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newt
Which woman author known for wearing men's clothes wrote the 1848 novel 'Francois le Champi'?
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george sand
In which Shakespearean play are Malcolm and Donalbain the sons of King Duncan?
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macbeth
Which author set her first novel, 1936's 'We the Living', in her native Russia?
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ayn rand
In which Shakespeare play does Miranda tell Prospero in scene 2 that she's seen a shipwreck?
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tempest
What Shakespeare play starts on a ship and concludes in front of a cell?
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tempest
Who is the Canadian author of 'Alias Grace' and 'The Handmaid's Tale'?
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margaret atwood
Who is the C.S. Forester character that was the commander of the H.M.S. Lydia, a 36-gun frigate?
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horatio hornblower
Which Shakespeare comedy was adapted into a 1993 film by Kenneth Branagh, featuring Denzel Washington as Don Pedro?
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much ado about nothing
Who is the priest renowned for his novel 'The God Game' and his work titled 'Cardinal Sins'?
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andrew greeley
What character from an 1865 work is known for its ability to disappear at will, leaving only its grin behind?
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cheshire cat
Which gang leader from Charles Dickens' 'Oliver Twist' is captured and executed after Bill Sykes accidentally hangs himself?
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fagin
In 1590, the first three books of which proposed 24-book epic poem by Edmund Spenser were published?
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faerie queene
Which author wrote a novel in which Maggie Verver buys a flawed golden bowl?
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henry james
According to Marlowe, what should be 'accursed' as the first invention?
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war
In what language did Petronius write his 'Satyricon' using its vulgar form?
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latin
Which author published the family saga 'In The Beauty Of The Lilies' in 1996 after concluding his Rabbit series?
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john updike
Who is the author of 'Sister Carrie' who also wrote three novels about the unscrupulous financier Anne Frank Cowperwood?
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theodore dreiser
Which poet, in the book 'New Hampshire', wrote of a crow that 'shook down on me the dust of snow'?
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robert frost
In a book about political strategy, which term completes the following quote: 'Those who wish to win favor with a ____...offer him those things which they hold most precious...'
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prince
Who is crowned Queen of the Wood in Tennyson's play about Robin Hood, 'The Foresters'?
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maid marian
Who is the author who wrote about her father, 'Women of Courage,' and 'Murder in Georgetown'?
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margaret truman
Who wrote the novel 'Adam Bede' as her first book?
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george eliot
Which Canadian-born author won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for 'Humboldt's Gift'?
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saul bellow
Which playwright wrote 'Ah, Wilderness!' that is set in Connecticut on July 4th and 5th, 1906?
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eugene o'neill
Which author had his estate, Wolf House, burn down in 1913 the day before he was to move in?
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jack london
Who is the Welsh poet known for writing 'A Child's Christmas in Wales'?
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dylan thomas
In which country did Henry Miller set his travel account in 'The Colossus of Maroussi'?
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greece
Which 1932 Aldous Huxley novel has a title derived from a line in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'?
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brave new world
Which author, who once lived in Aberdeen, South Dakota, is celebrated in Storybook Land where the 'Oz' stories come to life?
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l. frank baum
In which novel does Mr. Charrington, who owns an antique shop, turn out to be a member of the Thought Police?
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1984
Who is the author of 'The Sea Around Us' and taught zoology at the University of Maryland from 1931 to 1936?
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rachel carson
Who is the playwright known for the famous line, 'I have always depended on the kindness of strangers,' in one of his Pulitzer Prize-winning works?
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tennessee williams
Which author said, 'I didn't realize I had an imagination until I wrote Scruples'?
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judith krantz
Who is the author of 'Tom Jones' who also served as a justice of the peace?
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henry fielding
Which English author wrote the 900-page novel 'Nicholas Nickleby', that was later adapted into a 9-hour play and a miniseries?
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charles dickens
What is the title of the novel in which Howard Roark, modeled on Frank Lloyd Wright, is the central architect?
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fountainhead
Which author, known for 'North and South,' wrote the lyrics to the 1970 musical comedy 'Dracula, Baby'?
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john jakes
Who is the author of 'The Concord Hymn', which includes the famous line 'The shot heard round the world'?
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ralph waldo emerson
In 'Slaughterhouse Five', Billy Pilgrim survives the firebombing of which German city?
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dresden
Who is the Russian playwright that wrote 'In the Ravine' in 1900, considered one of his finest stories?
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anton chekhov