FunTrivia Literature Mix: Vol 10 Quiz

Answer: Cuckoos lay eggs in other birds nests

Cuckoos lay their eggs in other birds' nests, thus avoiding having to build and maintain their own nests. In "Cuckoo's Egg", a cat-like alien raises a human child in order to learn about humankind. Because the child is so different, it is hated and reviled by the community. I recommend this book to anyone interested in both science fiction and why we humans hate "others".

Question by player nikkitem

Answer: The Handmaid's Tale

Canadian author Margaret Atwood wrote this dehumanizing and unpleasant tale in 1985. It describes handmaids who are controlled by their masters, and their attempt to become independent. The book won the first Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987 for best science fiction novel and has also been adapted into a television series.

Question by player lout62001

Answer: A Biblical queen and heroine

The Hebrew or Old Testament Book of Esther tells of an intelligent and courageous queen who saves her people, the Jewish population of Persia, from persecution and murder. Esther Summerson, too, is intelligent and in her own way courageous. Certainly she is a strong though gentle young woman.

England has had no queens named Esther, though there have been two monarchs named Elizabeth, as well as one Victoria, one Ann and, during the Middle Ages, one Matilda.

The English national heroine is Boadicea (Boudica), who led her people in a revolt against the Romans in ca. 60-63 A.D. In 1902 a statue to her was erected near the Houses of Parliament in London.

The warrior princess in Virgil's epic poem 'The Aeneid' is Camilla.

Question by player Catreona

Answer: British Secret Intelligence Service

The suave and debonair James Bond was employed by the British Secret Intelligence Service, also known as the SIS and MI6. Did you know that author Ian Fleming, an avid bird-watcher, named this character after ornithologist James Bond, a Caribbean bird expert and author? Many people also believe that Ian Fleming also modeled the character after himself and point to the fact that Fleming was a well-known jet-set womaniser who had a fancy for electronic gadgets.

Question by player dcpddc478

Answer: Klondike Gold Rush

Jack London's classic "The Call of the Wild" was first published in 1903. It follows Buck, who is stolen from his home and turned in to a sled dog during the Klondike Gold Rush. He gradually turns from a domesticated dog in to a dog much like his ancestors (a "primordial beast").

He was based on a dog London's landlords owned, who was, like Buck, a St Bernard cross Scotch shepherd. Some of Jack London's other famous works include "The Sea Wolf", "To Build a Fire" and "White Fang".

Question by player Daaanieeel

Answer: Dinosaurs

Born in Nantes (France) in 1828, Jules Verne had a healthy imagination and a knack for creating interesting characters like Phileas Fogg and Captain Nemo. He was also very much a man of his time, using antisemitic stereotypes. In the "Journey to the Center of the Earth", the hero, Axel Lidenbrock, and his friends go down the crater of an Icelandic volcano, wander through a forest of giant mushrooms and coniferous trees called kauri (Agathis australis, native of New Zealand) and witness a giant Ichthyosaurus fighting a Plesiosaurus. Further on, they see a herd of mastodons grazing.

Question by player chabenao1

Answer: E.B White

J.K Rowling wrote the "Harry Potter" series, Charles Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol" and Charlene Waters is probably not a real person.

Question by player spongedude132

Answer: Oscar Wilde

Wilde was a flippant drawing room wit, and often reckless in his personal affairs. He displeased the Marquess of Queensbury and others and spent years in prison, which broke his spirit.

Question by player alexis722

Answer: James Patterson

Alex Cross is the main character in Patterson's 'Cross' series. He is an ace detective and a licensed psychologist.

Question by player Teyegerfly

Answer: We never find out

"Cold Comfort Farm" was written in 1932 as a humorous parody of a rural melodrama. Throughout the book mention is made of the horror Aunt Ada witnessed in the woodshed, but the answer is never revealed.

Question by player slfcpd