Literature Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 2000
Who is the author of the novel 'Needful Things' and also wrote 'It' and 'Cujo'?
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stephen king
Who is the author that dedicated her book 'The Mirror Crack'd' to Margaret Rutherford, who portrayed Miss Marple in several films?
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agatha christie
What novel by Robert Graves precedes 'Claudius the God'?
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i, claudius
Which play by Shakespeare, fittingly starts with a storm and a shipwreck?
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tempest
Which character created by F. Scott Fitzgerald was originally named James Gatz?
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great gatsby
According to a 19th century rhyme, what does a person who does not love wine, women, and this remain for their whole life?
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song
Who does Juliet refer to as a 'serpent heart, hid with a flowering face,' upon learning he has killed Tybalt?
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romeo
Which character in “Hamlet” is represented by just a skull?
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yorick
Who is the author of 'Robinson Crusoe' and is considered one of the founders of the English novel?
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daniel defoe
Which Arthurian wizard completes the trilogy in Mary Stewart's 1979 novel 'The Last Enchantment'?
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merlin
Who is the central character of Apollonius Rhodius' epic 'Argonautica'?
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jason
Who authored the memoir 'A Moveable Feast' about his early days in Paris?
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ernest hemingway
Who is the character in Shakespeare's play that orders the death of Lady Macduff and her children?
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macbeth
Which American playwright created the characters Gooper Pollitt, Jim O'Connor, and Stella Kowalski?
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tennessee williams
In Wallace Stevens' 'Farewell to' which state does he say, 'Key West sank downward under massive clouds'?
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florida
Which famous novel begins with the line 'In a certain village in La Mancha, which I do not wish to name, there lived not long ago a gentleman...'?
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don quixote
Which author advised squeamish readers to return their copies of 'The Loved One' to the library unread?
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evelyn waugh
Who is the author of the 1998 horror novel 'Bag of Bones' that became a bestseller?
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stephen king
In her book, 'Wake Up, I'm...', what word does Camryn Manheim of 'The Practice' use to share sometimes painful memories?
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fat
Which author, known for the novel 'Little Women,' also wrote 'Eight Cousins'?
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louisa may alcott
Under what pseudonym did Charles Dodgson write about Alice's adventures, including her journey down the rabbit hole?
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lewis carroll
Which American author had the idea for a story by 1877 in which Edward VI and a pauper change places?
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mark twain
Who is the author of the book in which Professor Bhaer was partly based on Ralph Waldo Emerson?
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louisa may alcott
Which Russian playwright did G.B. Shaw compare his play 'Heartbreak House' to, including works like 'The Cherry Orchard'?
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anton chekhov
Who wrote in a preface to 'Leaves of Grass', 'A great poem is for ages and ages'?
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walt whitman
Which author, known for writing 'Presumed Innocent,' also set his novel 'Burden Of Proof' in the fictional Kindle County?
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scott turow
In which Shakespearean tragedy does Act II open in Polonius' house?
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hamlet
Who is the author of 'Frankenstein' who wrote five other novels but none as popular as her first?
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mary shelley
Who is the playwright of 'A Doll's House'?
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henrik ibsen
Who is the author of the fable 'The Fox and the Goat' which teaches the moral 'Never trust the advice of a man in difficulties'?
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aesop
What classic children's book by Anna Sewell is subtitled 'The Autobiography of a Horse'?
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black beauty
Which author, who wrote 'Jurassic Park', supported himself through Harvard medical school with his writing under the pseudonym John Lange?
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michael crichton
Which Michael Crichton novel is about the cloning of dinosaur DNA?
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jurassic park
Which newsman inspired the collection of letters in 'The Greatest Generation Speaks' with his 1998 bestseller?
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tom brokaw
In which famous residence did the pets live in Margaret Truman's 1969 book?
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white house
In 'Oedipus the King', the play begins with a priest asking Oedipus to stop a plague in the name of which living god?
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zeus
Which author, known for writing 'Gone With The Wind,' had her previously-unpublished work 'Lost Laysen' published in 1996?
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margaret mitchell
In which Shakespearean tragedy does Lodovico tell Gratiano to 'seize upon the fortunes of the Moor' near the end?
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othello
Which horror writer created the character Dolores Claiborne, who admits to murdering her husband?
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stephen king
What is considered bliss in Thomas Gray's saying about it being folly to be wise?
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ignorance
Who is the regimental water carrier featured in a poem by Rudyard Kipling?
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gunga din
Which author wrote 'The Jungle Book' while living in Vermont?
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rudyard kipling
Which playwright wrote 'Garden District,' a double bill of 'Something Unspoken' and 'Suddenly Last Summer'?
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tennessee williams
Who wrote the 1831 poetry book "Leaves of Autumn" and a novel about a hunchback?
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victor hugo
What is the title of the first novel by Daniel Defoe, which could have been appropriately titled 'Marooned!'?
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robinson crusoe
Who is the author of 'Voyage of the Beagle'?
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charles darwin
Which author wrote 'Treasure Island,' which was first serialized in 1881-82 under the pseudonym Capt. George North?
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robert louis stevenson
Who had her lover and future husband Percy edit her first novel, 'Frankenstein'?
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mary shelley
What novel by Charles Dickens does Saul Bellow describe as 'the story of a mild young man on the make'?
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great expectations
In which Pearl Buck novel is Lotus Blossom the concubine of Wang Lung?
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good earth
Which author, who wrote 'Burr' and 'Lincoln', also authored detective stories under the pseudonym Edgar Box?
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gore vidal
Which 1719 novel tells the story of a mariner who spent 28 years alone on an uninhabited island?
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robinson crusoe
What play by Shakespeare, featuring a Moor as the protagonist, was inspired by a tale in Cinthio's 'Hecatommithi'?
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othello
Who is the author of 'Murder with Mirrors' and 'The Mirror Crack'd'?
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agatha christie
Which authors work, 'The Bonfire of the Vanities', was first published as a serial in Rolling Stone magazine?
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thomas wolfe
What is the title of the Cervantes work that inspired the opera 'Master Peter's Puppet Show'?
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don quixote
In Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', the play opens at Elsinore castle, where a sentinel notes that not a creature is stirring, not even which animal?
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mouse
Which 'Invisible Man' author wrote the essay 'On Being the Target of Discrimination' that appeared in 1989?
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ralph ellison
Who is the first female character to speak in Lord Byron's Biblical drama "Cain"?
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eve
Which ex-partner, appearing in chains, warns Scrooge to mend his ways?
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jacob marley