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Quiz about Nostalgia for British Childrens Writers Part 2
Quiz about Nostalgia for British Childrens Writers Part 2

Nostalgia for British Children's Writers Part 2 Quiz


It's those old children's books again. From popular successful series to the ones that the critics loved. These could be a part of your past. Why not have a look? Mostly for "old girls".

A multiple-choice quiz by Philian. Estimated time: 8 mins.
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Author
Philian
Time
8 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
130,952
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
25
Difficulty
Difficult
Avg Score
12 / 25
Plays
795
- -
Question 1 of 25
1. Ballet stories were once very popular with girls. Mabel Esther Allan wrote a series under her pseudonym "Jean Estoril". What was the name of her dancing heroine? Hint


Question 2 of 25
2. The author Stephen Tring created a series about a girl called Penny. Penny had an elder sister called Felicity but Penny always called her by another version of her real name. What was it? Hint


Question 3 of 25
3. In which series of books would you find a girl called Ethel Brown? Hint


Question 4 of 25
4. What is the name of the young heroine in the "Trebizon" school series by Anne Digby? Hint


Question 5 of 25
5. Which of the three Pullein-Thompson sisters wrote the series of stories about Noel and Henry? Hint


Question 6 of 25
6. Which is the first of the "Jill" books by Ruby Ferguson? Hint


Question 7 of 25
7. In the "Jill" books, what does Jill's mother do to earn her living? Hint


Question 8 of 25
8. What is the English name of the book by Noel Streatfield in which two little girls, Lalla and Harriet, set out to be skating champions? Hint


Question 9 of 25
9. Which writer of historical children's novels produced the award-winning "The Wool-Pack"? Hint


Question 10 of 25
10. Which of the following is not a genuine "Susan" book in the series by Jane Shaw? Hint


Question 11 of 25
11. In "Swallows and Amazons", which member of the Swallow's crew captured the rival dinghy belonging to the Amazons? Hint


Question 12 of 25
12. In Enid Blyton's "The Twins at St.Clare's", what is the Irish surname of the twin sisters Pat and Isabel? Hint


Question 13 of 25
13. In the 1941 Carnegie medal winner "We couldn't leave Dinah" by Mary Treadgold what sort of animal is Dinah? Hint


Question 14 of 25
14. In the "Bannermere" series by Geoffrey Trease what is it that stops Penny from becoming a successful stage actress? Hint


Question 15 of 25
15. What is the real name of the male writer who used "Sylvia Little" and "Nesta Grant" as two of his pseudonyms when he wrote some of his girls' stories? Hint


Question 16 of 25
16. Famous for his "Lone Pine" stories Malcolm Saville also attempted a series involving a secret agent that was intended for much older teenagers. What was the name of the agent and thus the series? Hint


Question 17 of 25
17. "Elizabeth of the Garret Theatre" and "Torley Grange" are two of the stories by which popular girls' story writer? Hint


Question 18 of 25
18. What is name of the girl who is the first heroine in the long "Sadler's Wells" series about ballet by Lorna Hill? Hint


Question 19 of 25
19. What is the real first name of Captain W.E.Johns' flying heroine Worrals? Hint


Question 20 of 25
20. Dorothy Carter (real name Eileen Heming) also produced a series of flying stories with a female pilot as the main character. Most of the titles had "of the Air" in them. Who was the heroine? Hint


Question 21 of 25
21. Which children's author wrote the "Mantlemass" series of historical novels? Hint


Question 22 of 25
22. Where are the children evacuated to in Nina Bawden's "Carrie's War"? Hint


Question 23 of 25
23. In William Mayne's story "A Grass Rope", what does the little girl hope to do with the grass rope? Hint


Question 24 of 25
24. To which series do these books really belong : "Damaris Dances", "Damaris at Dorothy's", "Maidlin to the Rescue". Hint


Question 25 of 25
25. What is the real name of Dimsie in the "Dimsie" stories by Dorita Fairlie Bruce? Hint





Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Ballet stories were once very popular with girls. Mabel Esther Allan wrote a series under her pseudonym "Jean Estoril". What was the name of her dancing heroine?

Answer: Drina

As well as the details about the training and the performances there was a mystery about Drina's parentage and background. As the series went on and Drina danced in Italy, Switzerland, Paris, New York etc, there was also the inevitable process of falling in love to be coped with.
2. The author Stephen Tring created a series about a girl called Penny. Penny had an elder sister called Felicity but Penny always called her by another version of her real name. What was it?

Answer: Fizzy

Stephen Tring was the pseudonym for the author Lawrence Meynell. The "Penny" books all had interesting titles like "Penny Dreadful", "Penny Foolish". Penny was only eleven at the start but Fizzy was seventeen and old enough to be involved with boys and men. Inevitably Penny also progressed to the age of seventeen.
3. In which series of books would you find a girl called Ethel Brown?

Answer: In the "Just William" series by Richmal Crompton

In one book one of the young men who regularly falls in love with Ethel describes her as having a face like a painting by Boticelli. William secretly agrees that his sister does have a face like "a bottled cherry".
4. What is the name of the young heroine in the "Trebizon" school series by Anne Digby?

Answer: Rebecca Mason

Anne Digby (not her real name) has also written more stories in the Enid Blyton series "The Naughtiest Girl". Rebecca is talented enough to write poetry and to represent her county at tennis. As these stories were set in the 1980s there is also "Boy Trouble at Trebizon".
5. Which of the three Pullein-Thompson sisters wrote the series of stories about Noel and Henry?

Answer: Josephine

The mother of the three girls was Joanna Cannan who had written her own popular stories about horses. The three girls did collaborate on some of the very early stories and came together again to write their joint autobiography.
6. Which is the first of the "Jill" books by Ruby Ferguson?

Answer: Jill's Gymkhana

Although most of a typical "Jill" story would be about Jill and the various ponies and pony jobs that she gets involved in, a lot of the attraction comes from the style of the first-person narrative. There is often a contrast drawn between the rather "twee" books that Jill's mother produces for children and the "down-to-earth" style of the young heroine.
7. In the "Jill" books, what does Jill's mother do to earn her living?

Answer: She writes books for small children.

Mrs. Crewe is a widow and struggles to make ends meet until she sells her first story. The only one who doesn't seem to like what she writes is Jill herself. Later in the series the mother gets invited to go on a tour of the U.S.A. to promote her books.
8. What is the English name of the book by Noel Streatfield in which two little girls, Lalla and Harriet, set out to be skating champions?

Answer: White Boots

Most of Noel Streatfield's books were retitled for the U.S.A. market where "White Boots" became "Skating Shoes" to fit in with the "Shoes" series idea which they wanted to promote. In the film "You Got Mail" the heroine is shown identifying a book in the "Shoes" series to an anxious customer.
9. Which writer of historical children's novels produced the award-winning "The Wool-Pack"?

Answer: Cynthia Harnett

"The Wool-Pack" must be one of the few novels for children about English history in which an arranged marriage between two young people is not dreaded by either the boy or the girl who have to do what their parents want. Meticulous drawings by the author herself always accompany each of Cynthia Harnett's plausible stories.
10. Which of the following is not a genuine "Susan" book in the series by Jane Shaw?

Answer: Susan Loses Her Way

"Susan Muddles Through", "Susan Rushes In", "No Trouble for Susan" and "Susan's Helping Hand" are amongst the other titles in this amusing series about a girl whose kind heart and positive attitude often bring trouble to her family.
11. In "Swallows and Amazons", which member of the Swallow's crew captured the rival dinghy belonging to the Amazons?

Answer: Titty

Left behind on the island in the dark Titty hears the Amazons raiding the camp on Wild Cat Island. She sneaks on board the "Amazon" and manages to anchor off Cormorant Island during the night. She also overhears the thieves who have raided Captain Flint's houseboat.
12. In Enid Blyton's "The Twins at St.Clare's", what is the Irish surname of the twin sisters Pat and Isabel?

Answer: O'Sullivan

When the twins first arrive at the school they deliberately set out to cause havoc and confusion. This causes great amusement to the other girls at their boarding school but brings increasing frustration to the members of staff. Eventually, of course, the headmistress realises they have "the makings of fine girls."
13. In the 1941 Carnegie medal winner "We couldn't leave Dinah" by Mary Treadgold what sort of animal is Dinah?

Answer: a pony

The action of the story takes place on one of the Channel Islands during World War Two and the children concerned get themselves mixed up the invasion plans of the Germans.
14. In the "Bannermere" series by Geoffrey Trease what is it that stops Penny from becoming a successful stage actress?

Answer: She had an accident when young that makes her walk with a limp.

Penny's life seems to be blighted by the accident which makes her limp. She has both the voice and the looks to be very successful. She also has the talent and the understanding to make the most of any roles she is given. Of her friends only Bill realises quite how deeply she is upset by this inevitable conclusion to her hopes.
15. What is the real name of the male writer who used "Sylvia Little" and "Nesta Grant" as two of his pseudonyms when he wrote some of his girls' stories?

Answer: Eric Leyland

Eric Leyland wrote hundreds of books under his own name as well -including at least eight series with different heroes whose development spilled over from one story to the next. Arthur Catherall also sometimes used female pseudonyms for his girls' stories.
16. Famous for his "Lone Pine" stories Malcolm Saville also attempted a series involving a secret agent that was intended for much older teenagers. What was the name of the agent and thus the series?

Answer: Marston Baines

Simon is Marston's nephew and is obviously is being groomed to replace him in the Secret Service. Marston's cover identity is that of a writer. Simon has a slightly complicated love-life but eventually looks destined to settle down with Rosina.
17. "Elizabeth of the Garret Theatre" and "Torley Grange" are two of the stories by which popular girls' story writer?

Answer: Gwendoline Courtney

"Elizabeth of the Garret Theatre" is all about the influence a new stepmother has upon the girls of a very talented but very disorganised family. "Torley Grange" is all about a girl disovering a very different life with a new family.
18. What is name of the girl who is the first heroine in the long "Sadler's Wells" series about ballet by Lorna Hill?

Answer: Veronica Weston

The first four stories in the "Wells" series are about Veronica and her relationship with Sebastian Scott as she makes her way to the top of the world of ballet. Later she fades into the background promoting the well-being of other girls from the north of England. Her daughter Vicki proves to be her biggest problem.
19. What is the real first name of Captain W.E.Johns' flying heroine Worrals?

Answer: Joan

Joan Worralson is her full name. It seems inevitable that the author was trying to create a female equivalent for "Biggles" but in fact Worrals was often entirely different in outlook and personal relationships. Captain W.E. Johns was asked to write these stories to help recruitment into the W.A.A.F. He succeeded beyond all expectations.
20. Dorothy Carter (real name Eileen Heming) also produced a series of flying stories with a female pilot as the main character. Most of the titles had "of the Air" in them. Who was the heroine?

Answer: Marise

The other three names are heroines in some of Dorothy Carter's other books e.g. "Jan's Flying Start". The first Marise Duncan story was "Mistress of the Air" and the last broke with tradition by being named "Marise Flies South" rather than using "of the Air" in the title.
21. Which children's author wrote the "Mantlemass" series of historical novels?

Answer: Barbara Willard

Amongst these stories is "The Iron Lily" which concerns a very determined heroine who manages to make her own way in the world of men. A strange secret links the main characters in each of these adventures. "The Iron Lily" won the Guardian Award for Children's Fiction in 1974.
22. Where are the children evacuated to in Nina Bawden's "Carrie's War"?

Answer: Wales

The story concerns both gain and loss as the children come to grips with the new household that is so unlike what they are familiar with.
23. In William Mayne's story "A Grass Rope", what does the little girl hope to do with the grass rope?

Answer: catch a unicorn

There is an ancient legend that a "grass rope" which is "woven by a young virgin" is the only way to catch a unicorn. In William Mayne's book reality and myth are both gloriously and dangerously intermixed before the resolution to the story is reached.
24. To which series do these books really belong : "Damaris Dances", "Damaris at Dorothy's", "Maidlin to the Rescue".

Answer: The "Abbey" series

The three books are all part of the "Abbey" series even though they do not have "Abbey" in the title. Some fans regard them as "connectors" rather than the main "Abbey" stories. In any event they were all written by Elsie J. Oxenham.
25. What is the real name of Dimsie in the "Dimsie" stories by Dorita Fairlie Bruce?

Answer: Daphne

The "Dimsie" stories trace her life from the moment she arrives as a new girl until the story when she arrives to help out her old school. In the meantime she also succeeds in creating a remarkable garden and in getting herself married in spite of her earlier "Anti-Soppist" society.
Source: Author Philian

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor MotherGoose before going online.
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