Literature Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 2000
What is the name of the Spanish seducer about whom Lord Byron left an unfinished poem?
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don juan
Who is the author that expanded an article about his riverboat days into the book 'Life on the Mississippi'?
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mark twain
Which title character of an 1897 novel was inspired by Vlad Tepes, a cruel prince from Wallachia, part of Romania?
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dracula
What is the 14-line poem that is also known as the Petrarchan in its Italian form?
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sonnet
Which author wrote the line 'Great men can't be ruled' in 'The Fountainhead'?
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ayn rand
Which fictional character, described by Daniel Defoe as a whore, a thief, and a felon, eventually turned honest and died a penitent?
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moll flanders
Which tragic character, whose father-in-law is the Venetian senator Brabantio, appears in a Shakespeare play?
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othello
Who authored the memoir titled 'Me: Stories of My Life'?
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katharine hepburn
In which Shakespeare play does the first scene feature malevolent actions occurring at the tomb of the Andronici?
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titus andronicus
What is the title of W. Somerset Maugham's novel about a medical student who becomes obsessed with a waitress named Mildred?
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of human bondage
Which author, known for 'The Other Side of Midnight,' explored the field of medicine in the novel 'Nothing Lasts Forever'?
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sidney sheldon
Who is the author of the poem that includes the line, 'I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear'?
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walt whitman
In which Pearl Buck novel does the character Wang Lung have a concubine named Lotus and a pretty slave named Pear Blossom?
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good earth
What classic novel features characters named Emma, her husband Charles, and her lovers Rodolphe and Leon?
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madame bovary
Which character created by Rex Stout enjoys gardening and gourmet foods, matching Stout's own interests?
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nero wolfe
In literature, who is the Flaubert character that ends her life due to increasing debt and deceit towards her husband Charles?
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madame bovary
What animal did J. Donne refer to as 'Nature's great masterpiece...the only harmless great thing'?
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elephant
In which classic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald do characters Nick Carraway and Tom Buchanan appear?
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great gatsby
Which author had both his 'Tropic' books and the trilogy 'The Rosy Crucifixion' banned from the U.S. for many years?
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henry miller
In his 16th century book of proverbs, John Heywood wrote, 'When' what 'shineth, make hay'?
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sun
In Tennyson's poem, what place is Maud invited into after the night has flown?
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garden
Which American author, born Nathan Weinstein in 1903, wrote 'Miss Lonelyhearts'?
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nathanael west
What is the name of the Hamlet heroine featured in Mary Pipher's bestseller titled 'Reviving'?
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ophelia
Which Pulitzer Prize-winning author set his 1983 novel 'Ancient Evenings' in Ancient Egypt?
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norman mailer
Who is the Australian-born author known for writing 'The Devil's Advocate' and 'The Shoes of the Fisherman'?
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morris west
Who wrote 'Tarzan at the Earth's Core' in 1930?
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edgar rice burroughs
Who is the author of the first novel titled 'Sister Carrie'?
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theodore dreiser
Which Daniel Defoe character is believed to have been inspired by the notorious thief Moll King?
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moll flanders
What is addressed in 'The Parson's Tale' from The Canterbury Tales that involves the seven deadly aspects of human behavior?
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sin
What is the last word in the title of George Bernard Shaw's play, 'Mrs. Warren's'?
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profession
Which rodent couldn't stay awake during the Mad Hatter's tea party in 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'?
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dormouse
In which country do 2 dogs and a cat trek across in Sheila Burnford's 'Incredible Journey'?
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canada
Which country's literary scene is Carlos Fuentes, the author of 'The Old Gringo,' a prominent figure in?
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mexico
Who is the author of 'All the King's Men' who passed away at his Stratton, VT summer home in 1989?
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robert penn warren
Which author, known for 'Jude the Obscure', also wrote the less famous novel 'The Hand of Ethelberta'?
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thomas hardy
Which Spanish literary character's scrawny horse lends its name to a term for a broken-down old nag?
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don quixote
In which Alexandre Dumas novel is Chapter 9 titled 'D'Artagnan Reveals Himself'?
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three musketeers
Which Shakespearean character exclaims, 'My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late!'?
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juliet
Which author recalls a trip to Switzerland and a ghost story contest with Lord Byron in the foreword to her 1818 novel?
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mary shelley
Who is the author of 'The Breast' in addition to 'Goodbye, Columbus' and 'The Anatomy Lesson'?
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philip roth
Who wrote the play 'The Cherry Orchard'?
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anton chekhov
Which author, known for writing 'Vanity Fair', studied at Cambridge University but left without obtaining a degree?
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william makepeace thackeray
Which poet authored the 1976 memoir titled 'Singin' And Swingin' And Gettin' Merry Like Christmas'?
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maya angelou
Which German-turned-Swiss author, known for writing 'Steppenwolf', was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946?
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hermann hesse
In which month did James Russell Lowell ask, 'And what is so rare as a day in this month, then if ever, come perfect days'?
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june
Which British romance novelist wrote the 1925 play 'Blood Money' while she was in her 20s?
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barbara cartland
Which author narrates the 1983 novel 'Ancient Evenings', where the narrator is reborn as a harem master and a grave robber?
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norman mailer
What pseudonym did Hector Hugh Munro use when writing the macabre story 'Sredni Vashtar'?
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saki
Which author was honored by the Samoans with the title 'Tusitala', meaning 'Teller of Tales'?
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robert louis stevenson
In which Shakespearean play do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern first appear in Act II, Scene II?
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hamlet
In which play by Thornton Wilder does the line 'Most everybody climbs into their grave married' appear in Act II?
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our town
What Shakespeare play last spoken word is 'Scone'?
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macbeth
Which Shakespearean character tells his daughter Cordelia, 'I am a very foolish fond old man'?
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king lear
Which author wrote the 1990 bestseller 'Four Past Midnight' that was published alongside Sidney Sheldon's 'Memories of Midnight'?
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stephen king
Who is the author who wrote about the Indian characters Susquesus, Chingachgook, and Uncas?
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james fenimore cooper
What is the title of the story by Carlo Collodi that was first published in Giornale dei Bambini in 1880?
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pinocchio
Which playwright refused to accept the 1940 Pulitzer Prize for his work 'The Time of Your Life'?
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william saroyan
Who authored the 1932 novel 'Little House in the Big Woods'?
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laura ingalls wilder
Which author, known for the book 'Herzog,' was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1976?
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saul bellow
Who is the 20th century American critic and novelist known by the middle name Carol?
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joyce carol oates