Canadian Literature Trivia

1. "The Handmaid's Tale" is a dystopian novel set in a totalitarian society called Gilead with a focus on reproduction. Who wrote this very famous Canadian novel?

From Quiz Canadian Authors from Black and White to Screen

Answer: Margaret Atwood

"The Handmaid's Tale" is a 1985 novel that won the 1985 Governor General's Award for Literature, the first Arthur C. Clarke Award (for science fiction novels) in 1987 and was nominated for the 1986 Nebula Award, the 1986 Booker's Prize and the 1987 Prometheus Award. It tells the story from the perspective of a woman who is being forced into the position of child bearer in an authoritative and oppressive society. It has been made into a 1990 movie starring Miranda Richardson in the lead role, a 2017 television series with Elisabeth Moss in the lead role and a 2000 opera. The first season of the 2017 TV series was nominated for thirteen Primetime Emmy Awards, winning eight of them, including Outstanding Drama Series. It also won a Golden Globe for Best Television Series - Drama. Elisabeth Moss won the Golden Globe for Best Actress.

From Quiz Canadian Authors

Answer: Mordecai Richler

Amongst many other novels not mentioned here, Richler also wrote the popular "Jacob Two-Two" children's books.

From Quiz Canadian Literature and Awards

Answer: Fatal Passage

This book won four literary awards and was short-listed for three others. It solved two mysteries - who really discovered the final link in the Northwest Passage and what happened to the lost expedition of Sir John Franklin, famous British explorer. "Lady Franklin's Revenge" is about Franklin's wife and is amazing if only for the chronicling of her extensive travel. "Ancient Mariner" is another non-fiction work from Canadian writer McGoogan, and tells the life of Samuel Hearne, who was the first European to reach the Arctic coast of North America. "An Adventure in the Arctic" is a made up title.

From Quiz Name That Canadian Author

Answer: W. P. Kinsella

Kinsella's most famous novel, "Shoeless Joe", was published in 1982. It is based on the infamous 1919 Black Sox scandal. The novel was turned into the highly-successful film "Field of Dreams", released in 1989.

From Quiz Canadian Plays

Answer: Here Lies Henry

MacIvor won the Chalmers Award in 1991, for "Here Lies Henry", which first ran at the 1996 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Daniel Brookes co-wrote the play and directed the first production.

From Quiz Can Lit? Can do!

Answer: Susanna Moodie

Susanna Moodie and her sister, Catharine Parr Traill, were born in England, and immigrated to Canada in 1832. They settled in what is now the Kawartha region of Ontario. Their books, such as Susanna's "Roughing it in the Bush" (1852) and Catharine's "The Backwoods of Canada" (1834), give vivid descriptions of pioneer life.

From Quiz Canadian Mystery Fiction

Answer: Howard Engel

Engel is a founding member of the Crime Writers of Canada.

From Quiz Canadian Literature

Answer: Rohinton Mistry

Written in 1997 set in India in the '70s. Excellent novel.

From Quiz Canadian Authors from Black and White to Screen

Answer: Mordecai Richler

This novel tells the story of the life of Barney Panofsky, who recounts his life, including three previous marriages and a mysterious disappearance. "Barney's Version" was made into a 2010 movie starring Paul Giamatti, Rosamund Pike, Minnie Driver and Dustin Hoffman. The movie was nominated for the Golden Lion (highest award) at the 67th Venice International Film Festival. It was nominated for a number of other awards including the Golden Globe for Best Actor - Musical/Comedy for Paul Giamatti, which he won. It was directed by Canadian director Paul Lewis, who has also worked on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. The movie had a number of cameos by other Canadian directors, including Paul Gross, Atom Egoyan, Denys Arcand and David Cronenberg.

From Quiz Canadian Authors

Answer: Margaret Laurence

"A Jest of God" was adapted into the 1968 movie "Rachel, Rachel" with Joanne Woodward.

From Quiz Canadian Literature and Awards

Answer: Three Day Road

Although this book is not easy to read due to the graphic depiction of war, it takes the reader on an amazing journey and tells the tale of two Metis friends and how they react so differently to their war experiences. It has been nominated for several awards, including the Books in Canada First Novel Award. "Born With a Tooth" is a collection of short stories by Boyden. "War and Peace" is penned by Tolstoy of course and "Soldiers" I just made up.

From Quiz Name That Canadian Author

Answer: Gabrielle Roy

Roy was born in Manitoba in 1909. All of her novels were originally written in French.

From Quiz Canadian Plays

Answer: The Fighting Days

Written in 1984, "The Fighting Days" focuses on the women's suffrage movement but also includes themes of racism.

From Quiz Canadian Mystery Fiction

Answer: Metro Toronto Police

Written by Eric Wright, the Charlie Salter mysteries are intelligent and gently amusing. These books are good puzzles, big on realistic detail and police department politics, but not much action.

From Quiz Canadian Authors

Answer: Michael Ondaatje

Although a Canadian citizen, Ondaatje was born in Sri Lanka.

From Quiz Canadian Literature and Awards

Answer: Alias Grace

"Alias Grace" won the Giller Prize and the Canadian Booksellers Association Author of the year Award for 1996. It would be hard to find a book of Atwood's that hasn't won an award. Although I haven't found every single one of her books fantastic, "Alias Grace" was fabulous.

From Quiz Name That Canadian Author

Answer: Brian Moore

Moore was actually born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, but he moved to Canada in 1948. Despite moving to the US in 1959, he maintained his Canadian citizenship.

From Quiz Can Lit? Can do!

Answer: Michael Ondaatje

"The English Patient" shared first place that year with Ian McEwan's "Black Dogs". All the other authors named are also originally from South Asia, and are now proudly claimed by Canada.

From Quiz Canadian Mystery Fiction

Answer: Matteesie Kitologitak

Michael Kusagak is a noted Inuit children's author, Alex Kequahtooway is the detective and love-interest in Gail Bowen's Joanne Kilgour mysteries, and Jim Chee is a Tony Hillerman character.

From Quiz Canadian Literature

Answer: E.J. Pratt

E.J. Pratt wrote 'Towards the Last Spike' about the of promise of MacDonald's government to B.C. that the railway to connect to the East would be completed within ten years of joining confederation. 'The Truant' is '...an indictment of absolute power without recognition of moral ends,' (in Pratt's own words).

From Quiz Canadian Authors from Black and White to Screen

Answer: Joseph Boyden

"Through Black Spruce" was made into a 2010 movie by Don McKellar and nominated for two Canadian Screen Awards. It was nominated for Best Actor (Brandon Oakes) and Best Original Score. It won in the Best Original Score category. Author Joseph Boyden is primarily of Scottish and Irish descent but has written novels telling the stories of Indigenous people. He began to publicly speak out about Indigenous issues and received a fair bit of backlash and asked by a number of Indigenous writers to stop speaking on behalf of their community.

From Quiz Canadian Authors

Answer: Timothy Findley

Findley's work often employed tormented characters struggling with mental illness, gender and sexual psychoses.

From Quiz Canadian Literature and Awards

Answer: Lives of the Saints

"Anils Ghost" by Michael Ondaatje was the GG recipient in 2000. "Such a Long Journey" by Rohinton Mistry was the winner of the GG in 1991. "Man Descending", written by Guy Vanderhaeghe, was the GG recipient in 1982. "Lives of the Saints" was made into a tv movie a few years ago with Sophia Loren starring - unfortunately, it wasn't very good.

From Quiz Name That Canadian Author

Answer: Roch Carrier

Carrier's short stories earned him the Order of Canada in 1991. In 1999, he was named National Librarian of Canada.

From Quiz Canadian Plays

Answer: Doc

"Doc" premiered at Theatre Calgary in 1984. It is about a young woman named Catherine and her relationship with her father. When Catherine returns home on the eve of ceremonies honouring her physician father, she unleashes many old memories as she and her father attempt to lay old ghosts to rest.

From Quiz Can Lit? Can do!

Answer: Grey Owl

Archie Belaney was born in 1888 in Hastings, Sussex. He immigrated to Canada in 1906, and soon entered the wilderness life he had dreamed of as a boy. For twenty years he lived in the bush, trapping and guiding. In 1925 he started writing under the name of "Grey Owl", passing himself off as a half-Apache. He soon came to the notice of the Parks Service, under whose wing he became widely known, travelling as far as Buckingham Palace, speaking about the wilderness. In the summers, crowds of pilgrims came to his cabin in the woods. He died in 1938, and soon after, his secret was exposed. Although he was in some ways a fraud, Grey Owl did have a genuine love and knowledge of the bush. You can still visit his cabin, in Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan.

From Quiz Canadian Literature

Answer: W.O. Mitchell

Written about prairie life in the 1900s. Canadian classic.

From Quiz Canadian Authors from Black and White to Screen

Answer: Robert Munsch

So technically, "Love You Forever" has never been adapted into a movie or TV screen, however it has been included in some pretty iconic moments in screen history. This beautiful children's book that makes many adults cry, is a tender tale of the relationship between a mother and her son and was written after author Robert Munsch and his wife had two stillborn babies. On screen, one of the most memorable moments happened in the episode "The One with the Cake" from the TV series "Friends" when Joey reads the book to the one year old daughter of Rachel and Ross, moving everyone to tears.

From Quiz Canadian Literature -- Film Adaptations

Answer: The English Patient

The complicated story includes a severely burned "soldier" played by Ralph Fiennes (who turns out not to really be English), a Sikh bomb defuser (Naveen Andrews), an Anglo-Canadian thief (Dafoe), a Franco-Canadian nurse (Juliette Binoche) and a married British woman (Kristin Scott Thomas) who is up for a little extra-marital fun. Despite the complexity of the flashbacks and density of the story, Ondaatje and Minghella make it all riveting, no matter what Elaine Benes says.

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