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Less Familiar Works Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Less Familiar Works Quizzes, Trivia

Less Familiar Works Trivia

Less Familiar Works Trivia Quizzes

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So you know that C. S. Lewis wrote the Narnia series, but did you associate him with 'The Screwtape Letters'? If so, you may enjoy discovering the less widely known works of these authors.
9 quizzes and 100 trivia questions.
1.
  Authors and their Lesser Known Works    
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
Match the author with the title of a lesser known piece of their literature.
Average, 10 Qns, bwfc10, Aug 11 21
Average
bwfc10
Aug 11 21
270 plays
2.
  Famous Writers; Obscure Works   popular trivia quiz  
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
Many well known writers have works that did not capture as much attention as other endeavors. Match the writer with one of his/her less-read efforts.
Average, 10 Qns, Rehaberpro, Jul 05 17
Average
Rehaberpro
406 plays
3.
  Little Known Works   great trivia quiz  
Match Quiz
 15 Qns
My first match quiz concerns lesser-known novels and stories by these famous writers; you must match these works with authors.
Average, 15 Qns, tjoebigham, Apr 25 17
Average
tjoebigham
311 plays
4.
  Less Than the Best    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Many authors are well-known for one or two of their works, but have written many others that are not as well-known or well-liked, fairly or unfairly. Let's see how many of these lesser works you can match with their authors.
Average, 10 Qns, shuehorn, Dec 03 15
Average
shuehorn gold member
624 plays
5.
  Famous Writers; Obscure Works. Part Two   popular trivia quiz  
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
Many well known writers have works that did not capture as much attention as other endeavors. Match the writer with one of his/her less-read efforts.
Average, 10 Qns, Rehaberpro, Jul 14 17
Average
Rehaberpro
290 plays
6.
  One Book Wonders & Second Time Flops   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Nearly anybody can write one novel, or so reckoned D.H. Lawrence. A second novel, he opined, was "a step farther". These questions are about those who never wrote a second novel, or whose second novels were flops.
Average, 10 Qns, darksplash, Jun 02 18
Average
darksplash
Jun 02 18
1576 plays
7.
  Trickier Author/Novel Combos   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
You may know these famous authors, but do you know some of their less famous works? Good luck!
Average, 10 Qns, kyleisalive, Nov 06 14
Average
kyleisalive editor
359 plays
8.
  Lesser Known Works of Well Known Authors    
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
Though the average person may be able to connect Shakespeare with "Romeo and Juliet", could they do the same when asked the author of "Cardenio" or "Measure for Measure?" This test will ask you about those lesser known works of well known authors.
Average, 15 Qns, yonglo32, Feb 02 09
Average
yonglo32
756 plays
9.
  LesserKnown Works and Authors    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Not all of the masters - or all of the works of the masters - are that well-known. Try these.
Average, 10 Qns, robert362, Feb 18 16
Average
robert362
1876 plays

Less Familiar Works Trivia Questions
1. A commentary, as were many of their other works - whose third novel was named "Keep the Aspidistra Flying"?

From Quiz Trickier Author/Novel Combos

Answer: George Orwell

"Keep the Aspidistra Flying", like his other works "1984" and "Animal Farm", alerted readers to the ways of the world through veiled metaphor (though, to be fair, "Aspidistra" didn't veil them so much). In this case the protagonist, George Comstock, combated capitalism. Critics of the day decried the book for how scathing it was in its critique of the Depression Era economy and lifestyle. Huxley would write his best-known books in the late 1940s. It's just another work contributing to the canon of 'Orwellian' Literature.

2. Frankly my dear, perhaps you did not try hard enough. Which author wrote a novel that defined a particular time and place in American history, then died before writing a second?

From Quiz One Book Wonders & Second Time Flops

Answer: Margaret Mitchell

Margaret Mitchell was the author of "Gone With The Wind", the tale of southern dynasties facing the trauma of the American Civil War. It was made into a movie that has featured regularly in lists of the 'best' pictures ever made. Ironically, Mitchell was knocked down and killed by a car in 1949 on her way to the cinema. "Gone With The Wind" won a Pulitzer Prize in 1937. Pedants' note: The manuscript of a novella called "Lost Laysen" was uncovered in the 1990s and was published in 1996. It was written by the 15-year-old Mitchell in 1916. (GWTW was published in 1936).

3. What American author wrote many works with subtitles, including "Billy Budd: Sailor", and "Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life"?

From Quiz Lesser Known Works of Well Known Authors

Answer: Herman Melville

Melville's best known work, of course, is "Moby-Dick" (subtitled "The Whale"). Ironically, "Moby-Dick" was not highly esteemed until after Melville's death. "Moby-Dick" deals with Ahab's obsession with killing the great white whale Moby-Dick.

4. 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' is one of the novels written by this author.

From Quiz LesserKnown Works and Authors

Answer: Thomas Hardy

It's not one of his most famous, but it's good reading.

5. Whose first novel, "Digital Fortress", had nothing to do with Robert Langdon, but everything to with code-breaking?

From Quiz Trickier Author/Novel Combos

Answer: Dan Brown

Published in 1998, "Digital Fortress" never hit it as big as it did until after the release of Brown's "Da Vinci Code" in 2003, part of a series of books starring Harvard cryptographer Robert Langdon as he unravels history's greatest mysteries. "Digital Fortress" instead looked at technological codes, throwing its protagonists in the way of an algorithm that could reveal the personal information of people all around the world. Brown's third novel, "Deception Point", was also free of any Langdon but was also devoid of code-breaking, oddly.

6. Perhaps those cold Yorkshire winters got too much for the author of a memorable tale of love in the dales. Which writer died the year after publishing a novel that has since been immortalised in song and on the silver screen?

From Quiz One Book Wonders & Second Time Flops

Answer: Emily Bronte

Emily Bronte saw 'Wuthering Heights' published in 1847, then died of TB the following year.

7. Which female British author wrote the unfinished books "Sandition" and "Lady Susan", as well as a satiric "History of England"?

From Quiz Lesser Known Works of Well Known Authors

Answer: Jane Austen

Jane Austen, my personal favorite author, had six major works: the extremely famous "Pride and Prejudice", as well as "Sense and Sensibility", "Emma", "Persuasion", "Northanger Abbey", and "Mansfield Park". Numerous adaptations and sequels have been based on Austen's work.

8. 'The Idiot' is also a lesser known work by a prominent author.

From Quiz LesserKnown Works and Authors

Answer: Fyodor Dostoevsky

After 'Crime and Punishment' and 'Brothers Karamazov', people struggle to remember other works.

9. What sci-fi/fantasy author co-wrote "The Long Earth" with Stephen Baxter in 2012?

From Quiz Trickier Author/Novel Combos

Answer: Terry Pratchett

While Pratchett is very well-known for his "Discworld" series spanning dozens of novels, "The Long Earth" was written with sci-fi author Stephen Baxter as the first in a five-piece work and published in 2012. The book was actually based on an idea created by Pratchett when he started "The Colour of Magic" back in the early 1980s; it involves the existence of parallel worlds that can be reached by people who can step between them. It was followed by a sequel, "The Long War", in 2013.

10. Which American author wrote a novel that challenged racial stereotypes and the taboos of its time, and then never produced another during the 20th century?

From Quiz One Book Wonders & Second Time Flops

Answer: Harper Lee

"To Kill A Mockingbird" in both its movie and literary incarnations remains on many people's lists of 'best-evers'. Published in 1960, the story of racial injustice in the American south won a Pulitzer Prize. The 1962 movie adaptation won three Oscars.

11. What Victorian author wrote "Dombey and Son", and "The Old Curiosity Shop"?

From Quiz Lesser Known Works of Well Known Authors

Answer: Charles Dickens

Dickens is better known for works such as "David Copperfield", "A Tale of Two Cities", "Oliver Twist", "Nicolas Nickelby", and "Great Expectations", as well as arguably his most well-known work, "A Christmas Carol".

12. 'Tortilla Flat' was written by this American author.

From Quiz LesserKnown Works and Authors

Answer: John Steinbeck

They made a movie out of it.

13. Whose novel, "The Eyes of the Dragon", is often considered his first dabbling in the fantasy genre?

From Quiz Trickier Author/Novel Combos

Answer: Stephen King

Released in 1987, well into King's already-prolific writing career, "The Eyes of the Dragon" omitted many of the horror elements present in his earlier (and later) works, instead opting to tell a medieval fantasy tale. The novel, about a nefarious murder plot against a King named Roland (which readers may think is coincidental based on "The Dark Tower"), showed that King could delve into other genres seamlessly. He would later write a number of hard-boiled mystery novellas. You probably already know King for his other works-- "The Shining", "The Stand", and "'Salem's Lot", for instance.

14. Sometimes writers just need a gee-up. Which author started her one and only novel at the age of 51, took six years to write it, and then died within months of publication?

From Quiz One Book Wonders & Second Time Flops

Answer: Anna Sewell

Anna Sewell wrote "Black Beauty" to promote a more humane treatment of horses. She died in 1878, five months after it was published.

15. What Irish writer wrote the letter "De Profundis", while in jail, as well as "The Happy Prince", and "An Ideal Husband"?

From Quiz Lesser Known Works of Well Known Authors

Answer: Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde is better known for his witty plays like "The Importance of Being Earnest", and his sole novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray".

16. 'Dodsworth' also was written by an American author.

From Quiz LesserKnown Works and Authors

Answer: Sinclair Lewis

Better known for 'Arrowsmith' and 'Main Street'

17. What transgressive writer, known for his shock-fiction, penned "Haunted" in 2005?

From Quiz Trickier Author/Novel Combos

Answer: Chuck Palahniuk

Known for pushing the boundaries on content in his novels, Palahniuk is better known for "Fight Club", "Choke", and "Survivor", though some of his other works have been just as risque. "Haunted", for instance, follows the short stories of a group of writers looking to one-up themselves and each other in a horrifying writer's retreat. It happens to contain on short story, "Guts", known for making audience members faint during live readings. Palahniuk also wrote "Snuff", "Rant", "Pygmy", and "Invisible Monsters" amongst others.

18. He may have declared his genius, but the critics found his first novel a little too racy. Who confined himself to plays, poems and short stories ever afterwards?

From Quiz One Book Wonders & Second Time Flops

Answer: Oscar Wilde

Wilde based some of the characters in "The Picture of Dorian Gray" on himself. When first published in 1890, the critics hated it, but his other body of work led to a reassessment and it later became better regarded.

19. What Russian writer wrote "The Cossacks", and "The Death of Ivan Ilyich"?

From Quiz Lesser Known Works of Well Known Authors

Answer: Leo Tolstoy

Tolstoy's better known works, "Anna Karenina" and "War and Peace", have cemented him as one of the strongest Russian writers to have ever lived.

20. 'Barnaby Rudge' is the product of a prolific writer.

From Quiz LesserKnown Works and Authors

Answer: Charles Dickens

How many did Dickens write?

21. What Canadian author's "The Year of the Flood" was the second in a dystopian trilogy of speculative fiction?

From Quiz Trickier Author/Novel Combos

Answer: Margaret Atwood

Following "Oryx and Crake" and succeeded by "MaddAddam" in the trilogy, "The Year of the Flood" immediately slotted itself into the tale after the end of the first book, literally jumping to the characters seen around a fire in the post-apocalyptic wilderness seen through Snowman's eyes. Snowman (known as Jimmy...and 'Thickney') reappears with the main characters of "The Year of the Flood" (Toby and Ren) in the final book. Margaret Atwood, one of Canada's most celebrated authors, is also known for "The Blind Assassin", "The Edible Woman", and "The Handmaid's Tale".

22. What author wrote "The Silmarillion"?

From Quiz Lesser Known Works of Well Known Authors

Answer: J.R.R. Tolkien

Tolkien's "The Silmarillion" is set in the same Middle-Earth as his epic fantasy saga, "The Lord of the Rings".

23. Who is the author of the 'Tarzan' stories?

From Quiz LesserKnown Works and Authors

Answer: Edgar Rice Burroughs

Allen did 'Anthony Adverse'.

24. What Japanese-born author published "A Wild Sheep Chase" in 1982?

From Quiz Trickier Author/Novel Combos

Answer: Haruki Murakami

Murakami, better known for "Norwegian Wood", "Kafka on the Shore", "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle", and "1Q84", gained a certain popularity outside of his native Japan over the years. "A Wild Sheep Chase", one of his earlier works, features many similar tropes and schemes-- there's still a sense of ennui that perpetuates his books, for instance, and an odd fascination with ears. "A Wild Sheep Chase" was the third in Murakami's 'Trilogy of the Rat' and wasn't published in English until 1989, seven years after its original release.

25. It's hard to get motivated again when your first book is a monster hit. Which author could not scare up more than a few polite reviews for her second?

From Quiz One Book Wonders & Second Time Flops

Answer: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Shelley was aged just 18 when she wrote her smash hit "Frankenstein". It was published in 1818. Her next, "Valperga or The Life and Adventures of Castruccio Prince of Lucca", did not catch the imagination. It was never republished in her lifetime.

26. What Spanish writer wrote "La Galatea", "Novelas ejemplares", and "Viaje al Parnaso"?

From Quiz Lesser Known Works of Well Known Authors

Answer: Miguel de Cervantes

Cervantes died on the same day as Shakespeare, April 23 (designated as World Book Day for that reason). His best known work, "Don Quixote", is about a man obsessed with chivalry who convinces himself that he is a knight.

27. Whose mystery novel, "A Casual Vacancy", was released after the completion of an earlier seven book series?

From Quiz Trickier Author/Novel Combos

Answer: J. K. Rowling

Coming off the success of the "Harry Potter" series, Rowling released "A Casual Vacancy" in 2012 and, while it was highly anticipated considering the success of her earlier ventures, it ended up making a lukewarm drop into the literary world. Rowling found much greater success penning mysteries under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith; "Cuckoo's Calling" and "The Silkworm", released in 2013 and 2014 respectively, ended up hitting the bestseller charts with great critical response shortly after her outing as the author.

28. Picture the scene. You write a massive big seller and get an $8m dollar advance for a second, which flops. Which novel proved unlucky for Charles Frazier after his hit with "Cold Mountain"?

From Quiz One Book Wonders & Second Time Flops

Answer: Thirteen Moons

"Cold Mountain" (1997) sold a huge number of copies for Frazier and expectations were high - $8million high - for his follow-up, "Thirteen Moons" (2006). Sadly for the publishers, it failed to sell.

29. What French author wrote "Bouvard et Pécuchet" and "Salammbo"?

From Quiz Lesser Known Works of Well Known Authors

Answer: Gustave Flaubert

Flaubert's best known work, "Madame Bovary", deals with Emma Bovary's infidelity to her husband Charles.

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