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Quiz about Authors Behind Bars
Quiz about Authors Behind Bars

Authors Behind Bars Trivia Quiz


All of these famous authors were imprisoned at some time during their lives. Can you identify them?

A multiple-choice quiz by fringe. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
fringe
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
93,094
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
2617
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. This Irish author and wit was famously imprisoned for two years following a conviction for homosexuality in 1895. Who was he?

Answer: (Two words)
Question 2 of 10
2. American troops arrested their fellow countryman for treason in 1945, following his pro-Fascist radio broadcasts from Italy. Who was this poet, the author of "Hugh Selwyn Mauberley"? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. This Jacobean dramatist, poet and critic was briefly imprisoned in 1598 for killing an actor in a duel. Some of his great plays include "Volpone", "The Alchemist", and "Bartholomew Fair". Who was he? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Which famous Russian author of "The Gulag Archipelago" spent eight years in a prison camp, after writing a letter in which he criticized the Soviet leader? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. This English artist and poet, author of "Jerusalem", was briefly detained at Chichester in 1803, whilst awaiting trial on charges of sedition. Who was he? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. This Russian novelist, the author of "Crime and Punishment" and "The Brothers Karamazov", was arrested as a Socialist revolutionary and sentenced to death. Who was he? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. This English author of "The Pilgrim's Progress" was committed to gaol in 1660 for preaching without a licence. Who was he? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. This Irish author was imprisoned, as a member of the IRA, on a charge of attempted murder and sentenced to a term of 14 years in gaol. Who was this author of "The Quare Fellow"? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. In 1702 this English novelist wrote "The Shortest Way with Dissenters", which resulted in his being fined, imprisoned and pilloried. Who was he? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. This English poet, also a priest, penned "Holy Sonnets", and was briefly imprisoned after secretly marrying the 16-year-old niece of his employer, Sir Thomas Egerton. Who was he? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. This Irish author and wit was famously imprisoned for two years following a conviction for homosexuality in 1895. Who was he?

Answer: Oscar Wilde

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in Dublin in 1854. His close friendship with Lord Alfred Douglas so infuriated Douglas' father, the Marquess of Queensberry, that he made certain accusations against Wilde. Egged on by Lord Alfred, Wilde sued the Marquess for criminal libel.

The case collapsed and he dropped the suit, but was then arrested himself and brought to trial. Found guilty of homosexual offences (illegal at that time) at his second trial, the jury could not agree in the first, and Oscar Wilde was sentenced to two years' hard labour.

He spent most of his imprisonment at Reading Gaol, where he wrote "De Profundis" - not "The Ballad of Reading Gaol"- that was to come later!
2. American troops arrested their fellow countryman for treason in 1945, following his pro-Fascist radio broadcasts from Italy. Who was this poet, the author of "Hugh Selwyn Mauberley"?

Answer: Ezra Pound

Ezra Weston Loomis Pound, born in Idaho in 1885, left America and travelled widely in Europe, where he had more success with his literary work. He was in fact a great-nephew of Longfellow, although apparently never admired his illustrious uncle's work! After his arrest at the end of the war, he was detained for six months in a prison camp near Pisa, before being returned to the US to face trial; however, he was declared insane and unfit to plead. For the next twelve years he was confined in Washington's St. Elizabeth's Hospital for the criminally insane.

After his release he returned to Italy.
3. This Jacobean dramatist, poet and critic was briefly imprisoned in 1598 for killing an actor in a duel. Some of his great plays include "Volpone", "The Alchemist", and "Bartholomew Fair". Who was he?

Answer: Ben Jonson

A month or so after his father's death in 1572, Benjamin Jonson was born in London. After a spell as a soldier he took up acting, during which time he killed fellow actor Gabriel Spencer in a duel following an argument. He narrowly escaped the gallows by pleading "benefit of clergy", which meant that he was able to read from the Bible in Latin.

He was branded on his left thumb and released!
4. Which famous Russian author of "The Gulag Archipelago" spent eight years in a prison camp, after writing a letter in which he criticized the Soviet leader?

Answer: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Solzhenitsyn was arrested in 1945 after having criticised Joseph Stalin in a private letter. He was sentenced to eight years hard labour, which were then followed by three years in exile. He attained instant celebrity after the publication of his first novel in 1962, "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich".
5. This English artist and poet, author of "Jerusalem", was briefly detained at Chichester in 1803, whilst awaiting trial on charges of sedition. Who was he?

Answer: William Blake

Having ejected a soldier, who was apparently trespassing in his Sussex garden, Blake found himself accused by this man, John Scofield, of damning the King and accusing the soldiers of being slaves. Blake denied the charges and was subsequently acquitted.
6. This Russian novelist, the author of "Crime and Punishment" and "The Brothers Karamazov", was arrested as a Socialist revolutionary and sentenced to death. Who was he?

Answer: Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky (sometimes spelled 'Dostoevski')was born in Moscow in 1821. He was arrested in 1849 for making treasonable speeches; however, he got a last minute reprieve from his death sentence and spent four years at a penal settlement in Omsk, until he was pardoned in 1859.
7. This English author of "The Pilgrim's Progress" was committed to gaol in 1660 for preaching without a licence. Who was he?

Answer: John Bunyan

In 1653, after much soul searching, Bunyan joined the fellowship of the Baptists, and seven years later found himself in court charged with nonconformity with the preaching of the Church of England. He remained imprisoned for twelve years, as he would not promise to conform in order to secure his release.

After having been freed in 1672, he was elected pastor of the Bedford congregation, but was arrested again in 1675 and imprisoned for a further six months, during which time he started "The Pilgrim's Progres".
8. This Irish author was imprisoned, as a member of the IRA, on a charge of attempted murder and sentenced to a term of 14 years in gaol. Who was this author of "The Quare Fellow"?

Answer: Brendan Behan

Born in Dublin in 1923, Brendan Behan became an IRA member in 1937. He arrived in England two years later and was arrested for carrying explosives. After his deportation to Dublin he became involved in the shooting of a policeman, for which, in 1942, he was convicted and sentenced to fourteen years' imprisonment.
9. In 1702 this English novelist wrote "The Shortest Way with Dissenters", which resulted in his being fined, imprisoned and pilloried. Who was he?

Answer: Daniel Defoe

Son of a butcher, James Foe, Daniel was born in London in 1660, changing his name to 'Defoe' in 1703. Having taken part in Monmouth's rebellion, he joined William of Orange in 1668. He repeatedly fell afoul of the authorities with his satirical writings. Whilst imprisoned in Newgate Prison for two years he wrote "Hymn to the Pillory".
10. This English poet, also a priest, penned "Holy Sonnets", and was briefly imprisoned after secretly marrying the 16-year-old niece of his employer, Sir Thomas Egerton. Who was he?

Answer: John Donne

John Donne, born in London in 1573, studied law, sailed with Walter Raleigh, became an M.P. and Justice of the Peace, served as chaplain to King James I, received an honorary M.A from Oxford University, and ultimately became Dean of St. Paul's. Nonetheless, his marriage to the teenage Ann More in 1600 caused considerable outrage, resulting in his brief incarceration.
Source: Author fringe

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