Books We Have Loved Trivia Quiz

Answer: Neil Young

"Waging Heavy Peace" is an autobiography by Canadian-born musician Neil Young. The book is honest and refreshing and is a treat for fans. It is also an enjoyable read for those like me were never great fans of Young. After reading this book I was moved to listen to more of his music than I had in the past.

Question submitted by Desimac

Answer: Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" are a treasure of middle English literature. It's a wonder they survived because the printing press had yet to be invented, but he did have friends in high places.
Edward III was John of Gaunt's father.
Sir Giles de Roet was Katherine and Philippa's father.
Duke of Lancaster was John of Gaunt's title.

Question submitted by kkt

Answer: Thomas Cromwell

Thomas Cromwell, poor boy made good with the help of his mentor Thomas Wolsey. Cromwell became second man in the land after his master Henry VIII; that was never going to end well. Thomas More and Cromwell were colleagues and rivals.
Oliver Cromwell and his son Richard were Lords Protector during the interregnum between Charles I beheading and the restoration of Charles II. Oliver was the great, great nephew of Thomas Cromwell.

Question submitted by kkt

Answer: R.F. Delderfield

"To Serve Them All My Days" is the classic story of life in an English public school between the wars and a very talented and inspirational teacher, miner's son David Powlett-Jones, who returns from the Western Front in 1918, infirm, shell-shocked and bitter at the violence and wastefulness of war.

R. F. Delderfield (1912 - 1972), author of this and many other fine books was born in South London. His first successful novel, "A Horseman Riding By", saw him become one of Britain's most popular and best selling authors. renowned for brilliantly portraying slices of English life. Many of his bestselling novels have been adapted for film and television. All his books are great reads.

Question submitted by esspee

Answer: Cassandra

Cassandra Austen was a talented watercolorist who put her career on hold to look after not only Jane but also the children of her brothers. She and Jane were the only girls with six brothers - there was plenty of looking after to do for the two spinster aunts. Jane provided sketches of Cassandra in her writing, notably the sensible, benign Jane Bennett in "Pride and Prejudice".

Answer: Each of these

The Nancy Drew series was started in response to requests for a girl friendly version of the Hardy Boys mystery series, both of which were initially published by the Stratemeyer Syndicate which focused on publishing books for young adults. A team of people would outline an idea for a story, an individual would then take the outline and write the actual story, then a team would edit the manuscript.

Mildred Wirt Benson authored twenty three of the early books including the first one, "The Secret of the Old Clock".

Walter Karig authored books eight through ten. He was one of several male authors along with Charles S. Strong and James Duncan Lawrence.

Harriet Stratemeyer Adams was the daughter of Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate. She had input in the series helping with titles, outlines and editing. She rewrote some of the original books and added new ones after Mildred Wirt Benson left.

Question submitted by dekeaunt

Answer: A Kestrel for a Knave

The book "A Kestrel for a Knave", written by Barry Hines, was made into a film entitled "Kes", directed by Ken Loach, in 1969. Set in a mining area of South Yorkshire, Northern England, the book charts the life of Billy Caspar a sad, lonely failure in school, and desperately unhappy at home. Billy discovers a new passion in life when he finds Kes, a kestrel, which he trains. The kestrel inspires in Billy a trust and love that nothing else has during his short, depressingly sad life. Barry Hines (1939-2016), who was born in South Yorkshire, wrote many books based in the area, giving realistic glimpses into local life.

Question submitted by esspee

Answer: Louis L'Amour

Louis L'Amour wrote "Sitka" in 1957. The novel tells the story of the purchase of Alaska from Russia, through the eyes of fur trapper, Jean La Farge. The purchase of Alaska, known at the time as "Seward's Folly", is covered quite well in the novel. I found it an engrossing story when I first read it in the early 1960s. This book led to my discovery of Louis L'Amour; I have since read all his novels and short stories at least twice. I heartily recommend his works.

I was on vacation in the USA in 1988 when news of his passing came through. I kept an article from the New York Times and show the following quote from the obituary. "L'Amour eventually wrote 100 novels, over 250 short stories."

(As of 2010) Louis L'Amour has sold more than 320 million copies of his work.
I believe every one of his works is still in print.


Question Submitted by Desimac

Answer: Beeton's Christmas Annual

In 1887, the first Sherlock Holmes story, "A Study in Scarlet" written by Arthur Conan Doyle, was published in Beeton's Christmas Annual. In 1891, the stories became a regular feature in Strand Magazine. Since then, Sherlock Holmes has become the world's favourite and most widely read fictional detective.

Question submitted by esspee

Answer: Casino Royale

First published in 1953, "Casino Royale" tells the story of James Bond gambling in a casino, intent on bankrupting a union leader and Soviet spy, Le Chiffre. He is helped by agent Vesper Lynd and CIA agent Felix Leitner among others. This is an exciting story and made a big impression on an eleven year old reader when I
found it at the library in 1958.

"Casino Royale" was first broadcast in 1954 as an episode of the TV anthology series "Climax". James Bond, played by Barry Nelson, became an American CIA agent and Felix Leiter (named changed to Clarence for this teleplay) became an MI5 agent. The character "Le Chiffre" was played very well by Peter Lorre, making him the first Bond villain. This was the first time James Bond appeared onscreen.

Question submitted by Desimac