Death Turns the Page Trivia Quiz

Answer: A Tale of Two Cities

"A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens was written in 1859 and is set during the French Revolution. It is not only the tale of the two cities--Paris and London--but also the tale of two men, Charles Darnay and Sidney Carton, who happen to look similar to each other.

Each man loves Lucie Manette, the daughter of Dr. Manette, who was once imprisoned falsely in the Bastille. Darnay and Lucie marry, but when Darnay is imprisoned in France and is sentenced irrationally to the guillotine, Carton sees a point to his life in swapping places with Darnay and dying in his stead.

Answer: The Fellowship of the Ring

"The Fellowship of the Ring" was the first book in the "Lord of the Rings" series by J.R.R. Tolkien, and published in 1954. It told the first installment in the quest of the Fellowship of the Ring to return the ring to Mount Doom in Mordor.

A member of the Fellowship is Boromir, a man who is the son of the Steward of Gondor. Boromir is quickly entranced by the power of the ring, and it turns him into a power-hungry potential murderer. However, a band of Orcs attack and he dies trying to save fellow Fellowship members Pippin and Merry.

Answer: Little Women

"Little Women" was written by Louisa May Alcott in 1868-1869, and has been a classic with girls ever since. It also contains one of the most classic literary deaths of all time: that of the third of the four March sisters, Beth.

Beth catches scarlet fever during a trip to a poor family, the Hummels, and although she recovers initially from the disease, she never gains back her strength. She finally dies surrounded by her family, and her death particularly affects her next-oldest sister, Jo.

Answer: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", written in 2007 by J.K. Rowling, was the 7th and last "Harry Potter" book. It chronicled the final battle between the Dark Arts, led by Voldemort, and the rest of the wizarding world, led by Harry, "The Boy Who Lived".

Sadly, though, there are casualties in this battle; many of them, in fact. One of them is Fred Weasley, one of Harry's friend Ron's brothers. Earlier in the book, Fred's twin George had lost an ear, but Fred was killed during the Battle of Hogwarts, along with many others.

Answer: Of Mice and Men

"Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck was published in 1937, and is more a novella than a full-length novel. It tells the story of Lennie, a large but mentally disabled worker, and George, a small but intelligent man who helps to keep Lennie out of trouble during the Great Depression.

The two manage to find work on a farm, but disaster strikes when Lennie, who doesn't know his own strength, accidentally breaks the neck of the owner's wife. To save Lennie from hanging, George shoots him. Interestingly, Steinbeck noted that he loosely based the events in the story on something that he himself witnessed while working on a farm.

Answer: Anne of Green Gables

"Anne of Green Gables" was published in 1908 by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery, and is set on Prince Edward Island, where an orphan girl named Anne "with an E" travels to her new adopted home, only to realize that a mistake has been made: her adoptees, siblings named Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, were expecting a boy.

Matthew persuades Marilla to let Anne stay on trial, however, and she soon wins the hearts of all those connected with her. The story ends with a tragedy, however: Matthew, on learning that he has lost all of his and Marilla's money, dies of a heart attack. The tragedy only serves to bring Marilla and Anne closer, however.

Answer: Nicholas Nickleby

"Nicholas Nickleby", by Charles Dickens, was published between 1838 and 1839. It tells the story of Nicholas, who obtains a post at Dotheboys Hall, a boy's boarding school in Yorkshire, only to discover that the owner and operator, Wackford Squeers, is a cruel and brutal man. Particularly abused under Squeers is a boy named Smike, who was basically left and abandoned at Dotheboys Hall by an unknown, unremembered person.

Unable to stand the conditions, Nicholas leaves Dotheboys Hall with Smike. Over the course of the book, however, Smike never recovers his health, and eventually dies in a country house by Nicholas. The plot twists when it becomes known that Nicholas' evil uncle, Ralph, is actually Smike's father. Smike was taken away and left at Dotheboys Hall without Ralph's knowledge. When Ralph finds out, he hangs himself.

Answer: Lord of the Flies

"Lord of the Flies" was written in 1954 by William Golding. It tells the story of a group of schoolboys who find themselves stranded on an island. They believe that a Beast is roaming around, until one of the boys, Simon, discovers that it is just an airman's corpse, caught in trees and swinging in a parachute.

Simon runs to tell the others but they, thinking that he is the Beast, rip him limb from limb. This is not the only death in this tragic story, which discusses the themes of group mentality and acts as an allegory.

Answer: To Kill a Mockingbird

"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee was published in 1960; it won a Pulitzer Prize in 1961. It tells the story of a young girl, Scout Finch, and how her father defended Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of a crime.

Scout's father, Atticus Finch, does his best to defend and protect Tom, but eventually Tom is condemned. He dies later in the book when he is shot while trying to escape prison.

Answer: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

"The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle contained the Sherlock Holmes story "The Final Problem", which was first published in 1893. This story contained the final confrontation between sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his enemy, the criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty. The two confront each other in Switzerland and, in a struggle, both fall off a cliff by Reichenbach Falls. Dr. Watson, Holmes' friend, is devastated and returns to England alone.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had wanted to kill the character of Holmes so that he could end the series. However, Holmes was so popular that when the Strand magazine published the story, the magazine saw thousands of cancelled subscriptions and Doyle was hounded by fans to bring Holmes back. This he finally did in the story "The Adventure of the Empty House", where Holmes is revealed to have survived the fall.