FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!

Initially Famous Trivia Quiz

Many authors, poets and playwrights are known by their initials rather than their forenames. Do you know the names behind the initials?

A multiple-choice quiz by cristabel56. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
cristabel56

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
299,780

Updated
Jul 23 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
984

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. What forenames are concealed in T.S. Eliot? Hint

Thomas Simon

Thomas Sidney

Thomas Stearns

Thomas Stuart

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. W. H. Auden - What are Auden's forenames? Hint

William Hugo

Winston Henry

Wystan Hugh

Walter Herbert

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. J.B. Priestley - Jimmy Billy? Maybe not. What do the initials really stand for? Hint

John Boynton

James Bernard

John Bertrand

James Bertram

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. E.M. Forster - What names hide behind the initials? Hint

Edward Morgan

Edgar Michael

Edward Maurice

Edwin Martin

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. A.S. Byatt - The only woman included in this quiz has which forenames? Hint

Amelia Sarah

Alison Sarah

Alice Susan

Antonia Susan

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. W.H. Davies - Yet another W.H. but which were Davies' given first names? Hint

William Henry

Wilfred Hugo

Walter Henry

William Harold

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. A.E. Housman - What were this writer's given names? Hint

Alfred Edward

Albert Edgar

Albert Edward

Alfred Ernest

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. E.E. Cummings's name is more commonly printed as e e cummings. What were the names given to Cummings by his mum and dad? Hint

Ernest Edwin

Edgar Edward

Edward Estlin

Edward Edgar

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. J.D. Salinger - What are the forenames of this enigmatic American author? Hint

John David

Jerome David

Jonathan Douglas

James Donald

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. G.K. Chesterton - Do you know the names indicated by his initials? Hint

George Kyle

Gerald Klyde

Gilbert Keith

Graham Kenneth

(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

Select a User ID:

Choose a Password:

Your Email:

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What forenames are concealed in T.S. Eliot?

Answer: Thomas Stearns

1888-1965. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Eliot settled in England and became a British citizen in 1927. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948. His ashes are buried in Somerset, England, but he has a commemorative stone in 'Poets' Corner' Westminster Abbey.

2. W. H. Auden - What are Auden's forenames?

Answer: Wystan Hugh

1907-1973. Born in York, England, Auden became a resident in the U.S.A, in 1939 and became a U.S. citizen in 1946. From 1956-1961 he was Professor of Poetry at Oxford University. He died in Vienna and is buried at Kirchstetten.

3. J.B. Priestley - Jimmy Billy? Maybe not. What do the initials really stand for?

Answer: John Boynton

1894-1984. Born in Bradford, Yorkshire, Priestley was one of the founding members of CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) in 1958. He was awarded the Order of Merit in 1977.

4. E.M. Forster - What names hide behind the initials?

Answer: Edward Morgan

1879-1970. Born in London. In 1934, Forster became the first president of the National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL). In 1949, he refused a knighthood but was made a Companion of Honour in 1953 and accepted an Order of Merit in 1969.

5. A.S. Byatt - The only woman included in this quiz has which forenames?

Answer: Antonia Susan

1936-. Born in Yorkshire, Byatt is a novelist, biographer and highly regarded critic. Her book 'Possession: A Romance' won the Booker Prize in 1990. She was awarded a CBE in 1990 and made a DBE in 1999.

6. W.H. Davies - Yet another W.H. but which were Davies' given first names?

Answer: William Henry

1871-1940. Born in Newport, South Wales. He travelled to North America as a young man and lost his foot jumping a train in Canada. His leg was amputated below the knee. He told of his experiences in his book "Autobiography of a Super-Tramp'. He is perhaps best known for his poem 'Leisure'.

7. A.E. Housman - What were this writer's given names?

Answer: Alfred Edward

1859-1936. Housman was born near Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. 'A Shropshire Lad' was initially published at his own expense in 1896. He was considered to be one of the most distinguished classical scholars of his time, despite failing his B.A. at Oxford. His ashes are buried in Ludlow, Shropshire.

8. E.E. Cummings's name is more commonly printed as e e cummings. What were the names given to Cummings by his mum and dad?

Answer: Edward Estlin

1894-1962. Born in Cambridge, Mass. Cummings was both a talented writer and painter. There is conjecture as to why he used lower-case lettering for his name, one suggestion is that it may have been a gesture of humility. Perhaps he just wanted to be different! He died at the family summer home Joy Farm, Silver Lake, New Hampshire.

9. J.D. Salinger - What are the forenames of this enigmatic American author?

Answer: Jerome David

1919-. Born in Manhattan, New York. His most famous publication is 'The Catcher in the Rye'. He is a very reclusive person and lives in Cornish, New Hampshire.

10. G.K. Chesterton - Do you know the names indicated by his initials?

Answer: Gilbert Keith

1874-1936. Born in London, Chesterton is possibly best known for his 'Father Brown' stories but he was a prolific writer, having 69 books published in his lifetime and about a further ten published posthumously. He died in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire.

Source: Author cristabel56

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.