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Quiz about One Book Wonders Second Time Hits
Quiz about One Book Wonders Second Time Hits

One Book Wonders & Second Time Hits Quiz

As a companion to 'One Book Wonders & Second Time Flops', this quiz is about three more greats who never wrote a second novel, and seven others whose second efforts were better than their first.

A multiple-choice quiz by darksplash. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
darksplash
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
307,593
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
1205
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
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Question 1 of 10
1. Was it fiction or was it prediction? Which author, whose sole novel was a tale of despair and suicidal thoughts, was to go through a similar time in her own life? Hint


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Question 2 of 10
2. It is said that a prophet is rarely recognised in his own country. Which author had to publish his seminal work outside his own country, and then died before he could write a second? Hint


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Question 3 of 10
3. His hero became an icon for teenage rebellion and the tale sold more than 65 million copies. But catch this, although he wrote many short stories and novellas, which reclusive author only produced one true novel? Hint


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Question 4 of 10
4. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, or so some people say. Which author showed a little bit of sense and sensibility to change the proposed name of a second book and in the process published one that outshone her first? Hint


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Question 5 of 10
5. OK, it's supposed to be a great novel, but have YOU read it all the way through? Which author wrote an odyssey that that was considered better than his first novel but continues to baffle readers all these years later? Hint


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Question 6 of 10
6. Some say he was one of Britain's greatest novelists of the 20th century. Do I agree? well, up to a point, Lord Copper. Which writer seemed to be in decline with his first novel, but then turned unseemly bodies into a greater hit? Hint


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Question 7 of 10
7. Do I hear you asking "please sir, I want some more of these questions"? OK then, which author had the knack of writing several books simultaneously and made sure his second was better and had an added twist over his first? Hint


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Question 8 of 10
8. The first novel was good, the second was better and the third was great. Which novelist moved from one side of paradise to produce a beautiful second novel? Hint


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Question 9 of 10
9. Life as he knew it would never be the same for this author after his second novel earned him a Booker prize. Which author had to face down those who kept singing "who wrote all the Pies"? Hint


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Question 10 of 10
10. Things can only get better department: After her first novel was pulped, which girl with a pearl earring was pleased to see her second do much better? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Was it fiction or was it prediction? Which author, whose sole novel was a tale of despair and suicidal thoughts, was to go through a similar time in her own life?

Answer: Sylvia Plath

 Plath, better known as a poet, wrote "The Bell Jar" under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas in 1963. But while the heroine of the novel came though her psychological troubles and stepped back from suicide, Plath killed herself in the same year it was published.
2. It is said that a prophet is rarely recognised in his own country. Which author had to publish his seminal work outside his own country, and then died before he could write a second?

Answer: Boris Pasternak

 Pasternak had to smuggle the manuscript of 'Dr Zhivago' out of Russia to Italy, where it was published in 1957. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958 but was forced by his own government to refuse it. He died in 1960.
3. His hero became an icon for teenage rebellion and the tale sold more than 65 million copies. But catch this, although he wrote many short stories and novellas, which reclusive author only produced one true novel?

Answer: J. D. Salinger

 "Catcher in the Rye" became a sensation when it was published in 1951. The hero was a rebellious teenager, but the book faced many legal hurdles because of its perceived profanity. Salinger produced a string of novellas and short stories afterwards, but no original works after 1965. He refused to give interviews after 1980.
4. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, or so some people say. Which author showed a little bit of sense and sensibility to change the proposed name of a second book and in the process published one that outshone her first?

Answer: Jane Austen

 Two years after her 1811 debut novel "Sense and Sensibility", Austen published "Pride and Prejudice". It had originally been entitled "First Impressions".
5. OK, it's supposed to be a great novel, but have YOU read it all the way through? Which author wrote an odyssey that that was considered better than his first novel but continues to baffle readers all these years later?

Answer: James Joyce

 I think I'll wait for the Quentin Tarantino movie version of 'Ulysses'. Joyce's first book, "Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man" (1916) was a barely disguised autobiography. "Ulysses", (1922) his second, still divides critics and devotees to this day.
6. Some say he was one of Britain's greatest novelists of the 20th century. Do I agree? well, up to a point, Lord Copper. Which writer seemed to be in decline with his first novel, but then turned unseemly bodies into a greater hit?

Answer: Evelyn Waugh

 Waugh's first novel was "Decline and Fall" (1928), and his second was the much livelier "Vile Bodies", (1930) which, some critics believed was superior. Waugh went on to write a string of top novels, including "Brideshead Revisited" (1945) and "Scoop', (1938) from which the line "up to a point, Lord Copper" was taken.
7. Do I hear you asking "please sir, I want some more of these questions"? OK then, which author had the knack of writing several books simultaneously and made sure his second was better and had an added twist over his first?

Answer: Charles Dickens

 Dickens first published "The Pickwick Papers" (serially April 1836 to November 1837) but wrote "Oliver Twist" at the same time and published it serially (February 1837 to April 1839) subsequently. It was a trick he repeated with "Nicholas Nickleby" (April 1838 to October 1839). Argue among yourselves which is the best Dickens story: I can't stand any of them.
8. The first novel was good, the second was better and the third was great. Which novelist moved from one side of paradise to produce a beautiful second novel?

Answer: F. Scott Fitzgerald

 Fitzgerald earned quite a reputation for his first novel "This Side of Paradise" (1922). Many critics considered his second "The Beautiful and Damned" (also 1922) to be even better, and of course his third was "The Great Gatsby" (1925).
9. Life as he knew it would never be the same for this author after his second novel earned him a Booker prize. Which author had to face down those who kept singing "who wrote all the Pies"?

Answer: Yann Martel

 There were some who believed that "Life of Pi" (2201) bore a similarity to a book by a Brazilian author. 'Life of Pi' was the Canadian writer Martel's second novel, after "Self" (1996).
10. Things can only get better department: After her first novel was pulped, which girl with a pearl earring was pleased to see her second do much better?

Answer: Tracy Chevalier

 Chevalier was later to joke that the pulping of 12,000 copies of "The Virgin Blue" (1997) made the few that survived "a collector's item". "Girl With A Pearl Earring" (1999) made a much bigger splash. It was made into a movie in 2003, and a stage show in 2008.
Source: Author darksplash

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor MotherGoose before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
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Referenced Topics
Movies   Literature   People   Government   Something in Common   Literature: Something in Common   People With Comminalities   Jane Austen   Charles Dickens   Pride and Prejudice   J. D. Salinger   Hit or Miss   F. Scott Fitzgerald   Sense and Sensibility   Sylvia Plath   Oliver Twist   The Pickwick Papers   James Joyce   Tracy Chevalier   Yann Martel  

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