Literature Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 2000
Which country is home to the literary masterpiece 'The Pillow Book' finished around 1000 A.D. by Sei Shonagon?
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japan
Which author had her book 'Beloved' made into a movie by Oprah and her book 'Paradise' selected for Oprah's Book Club?
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toni morrison
What story by William Wegman features a Weimaraner dressed as the Fairy Godmother in his version?
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cinderella
What is Touchstone's role at Duke Frederick's court in Shakespeare's 'As You Like It'?
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jester
Which author, born in St. Mary's County, Maryland, set the office of his famous character Sam Spade in San Francisco?
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dashiell hammett
Who is the author that introduced the character Hercule Poirot in her debut novel, 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles'?
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agatha christie
Which American poet is known for writing multiple versions of the poem 'Lenore'?
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edgar allan poe
Which British poet had approximately half of the 600 copies of his 1786 work 'Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect' pre-sold?
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robert burns
In 'The Compleat Angler', what activity did Izaak Walton say he pursued after laying aside business?
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fishing
Which author, born in 1660 as Daniel Foe, was the son of a London tallow-maker?
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daniel defoe
Which Charles Dickens novel featuring Mr. Murdstone's stepson was published in monthly installments in 1849 and 1850?
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david copperfield
Who is the poet of the 20th century who wrote 'Daddy' and tragically took her own life in 1963?
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sylvia plath
In which Irish capital were female novelists Iris Murdoch, Elizabeth Bowen, and Maeve Binchy born?
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dublin
In which of Shakespeare's comedies does the character Benedick say the final line, 'Strike up, pipers!'?
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much ado about nothing
Which author wrote 'The Mirror Crack'd,' featuring the character Miss Jane Marple?
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agatha christie
What term describes the inscription William Butler Yeats wrote for his own gravestone that includes the lines 'Cast a cold eye on life, on death. Horseman, pass by!'?
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epitaph
Which famous author was taught the skills of riverboat piloting by Horace Bixby in the late 1850s?
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mark twain
What is the title of the first book in Paul Scott's 'The Raj Quartet' that includes the word 'Jewel'?
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crown
Which author reportedly considered 'Just So Stories' as his favorite work?
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rudyard kipling
Who wrote the line about a wealthy bachelor 'must be in want of a wife' in 'Pride and Prejudice'?
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jane austen
Which famous mystery author published 'Thirteen for Luck' in 1961, a selection of mystery stories for young readers?
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agatha christie
Which girl's diary was adapted by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, earning them a Pulitzer Prize?
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anne frank
Which author wrote the novel 'The Stand'?
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stephen king
Who wrote the 1882 drama titled 'En Folkefiende' in Norwegian, also known as 'An Enemy of the People'?
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henrik ibsen
Who is the famous authoress who was the daughter of transcendentalist philosopher Bronson Alcott?
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louisa may alcott
How many gables are in the title of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel about a house?
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7
Which author wrote 'David Copperfield,' considered his most autobiographical novel?
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charles dickens
In which city does the comedy featuring a cute dog named Crab, 'The Two Gentlemen of,' take place?
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verona
Who is the author of 'The Great Gatsby' who passed away in Hollywood before completing 'The Last Tycoon'?
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f. scott fitzgerald
Which 1960s bestselling book includes the line, 'I'll make him an offer he can't refuse'?
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godfather
In which capital city is Sean O'Casey's play 'Juno and the Paycock' set in a tenement house?
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dublin
According to Wordsworth, what emotion is lamented because some have died for it?
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love
Who was the poet married to Aline Kilmer, who was also a poet?
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joyce kilmer
Who is the author whose father, John, illustrated the original 1894 edition of 'The Jungle Book'?
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rudyard kipling
Which Shakespearean character says, 'Come, Desdemona, I have but an hour of love... we must obey the time'?
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othello
Who is the author that took the title of 'For Whom The Bell Tolls' from a work by John Donne?
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ernest hemingway
Which character from 'The Wizard of Oz' was afraid of a lighted match?
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scarecrow
In which country did D.H. Lawrence set his novel 'Kangaroo'?
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australia
Which Dante work features the poet being guided through hell, purgatory, and paradise?
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divine comedy
Which author's daughter, Carol Higgins Clark, published her first mystery novel in 1992?
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mary higgins clark
Which Corsican tyrant does Horatio Hornblower spend over 20 years battling in the novels?
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napoleon
Which author had his book '1984' as a bestseller in the year 1984?
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george orwell
Who is the author of the bestsellers 'Misery' and 'The Tommyknockers'?
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stephen king
In 1994, which country had Kenzaburo Oe as its second novelist to win the Nobel Prize?
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japan
Which author wrote 'The Beginning of the Armadillos' as one of his 'Just So Stories'?
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rudyard kipling
Who is the author who published a romantic novel called 'Valperga' in 1823, five years after creating 'Frankenstein'?
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mary shelley
Who is the author that describes her 27th bestseller, 'Heartbeat', as a counterpoint to 'Message from Nam'?
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danielle steel
Who wrote 'Great Expectations,' which was serialized in 'All the Year Round' magazine in 1860-61?
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charles dickens
In which Stephen King novel does a rabid bat transform a friendly dog into a deadly monster?
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cujo
In which novel does Jonathan Harker visit the British Museum to research Transylvania at the beginning?
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dracula
Which Washington Irving title character had 'an insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labor'?
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rip van winkle
In 1600, the first published edition of which Shakespeare comedy spelled the title word 'Ado' as 'Adoe'?
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much ado about nothing
Which French Enlightenment writer, known for writing 'Candide,' also wrote the libretti for several Rameau operas, including 'La Princesse de Navarre'?
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voltaire
Which character in Shakespeare's plays is known for saying 'Out, damned spot! Out, I say!' while sleepwalking?
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lady macbeth
Which author completed 'Les Miserables', his longest work, during a 15-year exile on the island of Guernsey?
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victor hugo
Which ghost does Scrooge attribute to indigestion by saying 'There's more of gravy than of grave about you' in a Dickens' novel?
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jacob marley
Which Homeric epic did George Chapman complete translating in 1611?
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iliad
In which month did Robert Burns compare his love to a rose?
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june
What is the name of the Chekhov uncle whose last line is 'Oh, if you only knew how my heart aches!'?
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uncle vanya
Which novel did Daniel Defoe claim was an allegory of his own life?
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robinson crusoe