What Story Was That? Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Picture of Dorian Gray

The quote is from "The Picture of Dorian Gray", spoken by Dorian. The novel was written by Oscar Wilde and is considered a classic. The story has been made into movies, most memorably in 1944 with Hurd Hatfield, George Sanders and Angela Lansbury. The first known screen adaptation is a 1918 Hungarian film starring Bela Lugosi. The novel has reportedly sold more than five million copies, not bad for a book that was initially banned as too sexual in its content.

Question submitted by Desimac

Answer: To Kill A Mockingbird

"To Kill A Mockingbird" is the best-selling novel by Harper Lee, and is the story of racial injustice, when an innocent black man is accused and convicted of beating and raping a white woman.

The story is narrated by the main character, Jean Louise (Scout) Finch, whose father unsuccessfully defended the man accused of the crime.

The quote comes toward the end when Scout and her older brother Jem are attacked while walking home from a school function on Halloween night by the father of the girl who was supposedly raped.

Question submitted by kennell.

Answer: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

"The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy"(a trilogy in four parts), was written by Douglas Adams. It was originally broadcast as a radio play on BBC 4 in 1978. The series of four novels were written between 1979 and 1984, though two more were written later, the fifth written by Adams, the sixth by Eoin Colfer based on Adam's notes. It has been made into a TV series and a movie.

Question by nebwary.

Answer: Oliver Twist

In "Oliver Twist", Mr. Brownlow, who adopted Oliver Twist, is enquiring into some missing trinkets stolen from Oliver Twist's mother on her deathbed in the workhouse. He says to the head of the workhouse, Mr. Bumble, "You were present on the occasion of the destruction of these trinkets, and, indeed, are the more guilty of the two, in the eye of the law; for the law supposes that your wife acts under your direction."

Mr. Bumble, incredulous that anyone would think that his wife would do anything he told her to do replies, "If the law supposes that, the law is a ass-a idiot. If that's the eye of the law, the law is a bachelor; and the worst I wish the law is, that his eye may be opened by experience-by experience."

Question submitted by shipyardbernie

Answer: A Tree Grows In Brooklyn

"A Tree Grows In Brooklyn" is the story of Francie Nolan as she grows up in a tenement district of Brooklyn. The tree is a Chinese Sumac known to the residents as the "Tree Of Heaven". It grows tall and healthy even in the poorest conditions. The book is divided into 5 sections, each covering a different part of Francie's life.

The book was a bestseller and was one of the books sent free as an Armed Services Edition, the size of a mass-market paperback, to fit in a uniform pocket to soldiers serving in WWII.

Betty Smith based all four of her novels on her own life, growing up in similar circumstances as the protagonists she writes about. All take place in Brooklyn, except "Joy In The Morning" which takes place in the Midwest. (The town is never mentioned), but the two main characters are originally from Brooklyn.

Question submitted by kennell

Answer: Marianne Williamson

Marianne Williamson came to fame when Oprah Winfrey not only read her book but was so impressed by it that she purchased 1,000 copies, urging her audiences to buy them.

This book, "A Return to Love", was published in 1992 and became an instant best-seller. The quote has been used by many famous people and for many years was attributed to Nelson Mandela or Hillary Clinton as it appeared in their speeches.

Question submitted by Waitakere

Answer: The Hound of the Baskervilles

This discourse between Holmes and Dr Mortimer comes at the beginning of "The Hound of the Baskervilles", and establishes the curse of the Baskervilles. "The Hound of the Baskervilles" is an enthralling story which has been made into a number of movies and television plays. The Sherlock Holmes character was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887. Doyle featured Holmes in over 50 short stories and four novels. A number of other authors have written stories, long and short, featuring Sherlock Holmes.

Question submitted by Desimac

Answer: The Egg And I

"The Egg And I", written by Betty MacDonald, is the best-selling autobiography of her life on a chicken ranch on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. She lived there from 1927-1931 with her first husband Bob Heskett and two daughters, Anne and Joan.

In 1931, after four years of Bob's abuse, she divorced him and returned to Seattle to live with her family. There she met and married her second husband, Don MacDonald.

She put a lot of humor into the book; one of the funniest parts is when a neighbor, Pa Kettle, saws a piece of wood from the leg of his water tower support platform, causing the whole thing to collapse!

After the book was made into a movie, Betty was sued for libel by the Kettles (real name Bishop). (Before the film was made, the Bishops happily showed tourists around their farm.) They were awarded $100,000.

The MacDonald family referred to this as "The Kettles' Million Dollar Egg".

Question submitted by kennell

Answer: Great Expectations

Charles Dickens' book "Great Expectations" recounts the life of Philip Pirrip, better known as Pip, from his days being raised by his sister and brother-in-law to his adulthood. It describes the many characters he encounters who impact his life.

This observation was made by Pip to describe the day he, Herbert and Startup set out to help Abel Magwitch, also known as Provis, escape on a steam ship. Their efforts were thwarted when the officers stopped them and Magwitch was yanked overboard and seriously injured.

Question submitted by dekeaunt

Answer: A Tale Of Two Cities

Sydney Carton is a character in the historical novel by Charles Dickens, "A Tale Of Two Cities". It is set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution which began in 1789.

A French aristocrat, Charles Darnay, is arrested but Sydney Carton (an English junior barrister) is determined to sacrifice his life to save Darnay. Carton is in love with Darnay's wife Lucie but realizes that it is unrequited love. He then conspires to take the place of Darnay at the guillotine and sacrifice his drunken, worthless, life, for the happiness of Lucie.

Question submitted by shipyardbernie