The Pearl is the Oyster's Autobiography Quiz

Answer: His mother

Frank, the eldest of Malachy McCourt and Angela Sheehan McCourt, wrote "Angela's Ashes" about his mother, an Irish woman who kept her sense of humor even in the poorest of conditions. The book won numerous awards, including 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, even though McCourt admits he may have stretched the truth a bit at times.

Answer: Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou wrote her first autobiography in 1969 when she was in her early 40s reflecting on the first 17 years of her life. She released more autobiographies as she lived through extraordinary experiences: she was an activist, calypso dancer, actor, and scholar.

Answer: J.R.R. Tolkien

Tom Shippey, like many, discovered the works of J.R.R. Tolkien when he was an early teenager and a friend loaned him a paperback copy of "The Hobbit." Shippey went on to become an academic at several universities, known for his specialty as a Tolkien scholar. Another Shippey publication, "The Road to Middle Earth," won the In 1984 the Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies.

Answer: Spare

In 2020, newly-married 36-year-old Prince Harry announced that he and Meghan, his wife, would be stepping back from royal duties. Before long, they moved to California and launched a number of enterprises. Harry's book "Spare" broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest-selling non-fiction book of all time.

Answer: Chinese

Adeline Yen Mah was born in China, the fifth child. After her mother passed, her father remarried and her stepmother did not treat her stepchildren kindly. Adeline focused on her studies and became an excellent student, eventually becoming a physician.

Answer: FBI

There is a big gap between what Abagnale has claimed and what can be verified. We do know that before he was 20, he was in and out of the Navy, arrested for petty theft, and ordered to a psychiatric hospital for observation after he had impersonated a police officer complete with a toy gun and a paper badge.

In his book, he claimed he worked for the FBI as a consultant, but the only evidence of his relationship with the FBI is that of his arrests. He was an admitted con man, which throws more than a little doubt on his autobiography.

Answer: Henry Winkler

Henry Winkler became famous very quickly from his role as Arthur Fonzarelli in "Happy Days" (ABC, 1974-1984). He published an autobiography in 1976, "The Other Side of Henry Winkler: My Story," but it was his 2023 book that received praise for his description of how undiagnosed dyslexia made his life difficult for years.

Answer: Isabel Allende

Isabel Allende was born in Lima in 1942. Through her father, from whom she was largely estranged, she was related to the Salvador Allende, the President of Chile from 1970-1973. Her stepfather was a diplomat and the family moved often; Allende attended international schools in the Middle East and South America.

When the President was removed from power, she moved to Venezuela, where she began writing "The House of the Spirits."

Answer: Labradors

Cotter wrote about his labradors, golden lab Mabel and black lab Olive. Out of complete boredom, Cotter wrote, he decided to make play-by-play videos of his dogs doing regular everyday dog activities, like eating or chewing on a toy. The videos were highly popular during a difficult time, and Cotter decided to write a memoir about the experience.

The book includes stories of the dogs' favorite Scottish hiking trails, swimming ponds, and naps.

Answer: Anthony Bourdain

New Yorker native Anthony Michael Bourdain took to cooking early and attended The Culinary Institute of America, eventually becoming executive chef at award-winning restaurants in Manhattan, Miami, Washington, D.C., and Tokyo. "Kitchen Confidential" was about his own behind-the-scenes experiences in restaurants and included some tips: for example, he recommended not ordering a fish meal on Monday as the catch might not be fresh.