Authors and their Works Trivia

1. Mario Puzo's most famous novel is "The Godfather" 1969. He was also a writer of short stories but had four novels published before "The Godfather". Can you name the first novel he had published in 1955 taking place in Germany, post WWII?

From Quiz They Wrote 'em and We Read 'em: Part III

Answer: The Dark Arena

"The Dark Arena" follows the story of an American WWII veteran who returns to Germany after the war in order to find his girlfriend, Hella. Puzo drew on his experiences of Germany as he had been stationed there in the US Army Air Force during WWII. Mario Puzo (1920-1999) wrote "The Fortunate Pilgrim" (1965), "The Runaway Summer of Davie Shaw" (1966) and "Six Graves of Munich" (1967) the latter under the name of Mario Cleri. Puzo considered "The Fortunate Pilgrim" as his finest work and this novel was the birthplace of "The Godfather".

From Quiz They Wrote 'em and We Read 'em: Part II

Answer: Carlo Collodi

Carlo Lorenzini (1826-1890), better known as Carlo Collodi was an Italian children's writer. "The Adventures of Pinocchio" was originally in a serial form in 1881-82 but was then published as a book in 1883. Sadly, Collodi died before his popularity spread when the book was translated into English in 1892. Grazia Deledda (1871-1936) was the first Italian woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1926. Corin Tellado (1927-2009) was a prolific Spanish writer of romantic novels and she had over 4,000 books published and many were best-sellers in Spanish-speaking countries, selling over 400 million books. Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900-1944) was a French aristocrat, poet, writer and aviator. He is best remembered for his novel "The Little Prince". He joined the Free French Air Force in North Africa during WWII and his plane disappeared over the Mediterranean Sea in July 1944.

From Quiz They Wrote 'em and We Read 'em: Part I

Answer: David Copperfield

Charles John Huffam Dickens (1812-1870) had "David Copperfield" published as a book in 1850, yet it had previously appeared as a serial in 1849-50. Uriah Heep is motivated by greed and is the main antagonist in the second part of the novel. He professed to be humble but his wicked and twisted character eventually saw him imprisoned. In 1969 around Christmas time there was great coverage of 1970 being the 100th Anniversary of the death of Charles Dickens. A heavy metal band called Spice decided to change their name to Uriah Heep, taken from the novel David Copperfield. The Uriah Heep band became one of the most popular rock bands of the 1970s along with Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath.

From Quiz Prolific Authors

Answer: Maine

Three made-up Maine towns that appear in several works are Castle Rock ("Cujo", "The Dark Half", "Needful Things"), Jerusalem's Lot ("Salem's Lot", "Doctor Sleep") and Derry ("It", "Dreamcatcher", "11/22/63"). Another example of a fictitious Maine town is Chester's Mill, isolated from the rest of the world in "Under the Dome".

From Quiz All About the Writer

Answer: Virgil

He was born Publius Vergilius Maro in 70 B.C. in the commune since named for him (Virgilio) in what is now the Lombardy region of northern Italy. Ranked as one of the most important poets of all time, he lived and worked during the Augustan period of ancient Roman literature. Based on Homer's famous epic poems of seven centuries earlier, the "Aeneid" follows the journey of Aeneas, a Trojan refugee. Virgil's influence on more recent Western literature is illustrated in Dante's "Divine Comedy", in which he acts as Dante's guide through the levels of hell and purgatory.

From Quiz Short and Sweet Two

Answer: Death

An old man directs them to where they can find Death. Instead they find a treasure and, ironically, Death. A group of pilgrims are traveling to Canterbury and on the way regale each other with stories. The pardoner is the classic hypocrite of literature who sells pig bones that he claims are from the body of saints. His tale is told with great emphasis on morals and biblical references. Chaucer wrote in middle English thus the spellings and pronunciations are obscure but there are many up-dated versions available. The 1948 film with Walter Huston and Humphrey Bogart "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" is a modern film adaptation of the "The Pardoner's Tale".

From Quiz Brain Pain: Books that Hurt

Answer: "In Search of Lost Time"

Marcel Proust proved that you can paint a picture with a thousand words, and he was supremely talented at it. His semi-autobiographical series is widely regarded as one of the most difficult series in all of literature. It touches on themes of involuntary memory, the nature of art, and the bitterness of love. Ironically, not a single publisher wanted to print the first volume*, so he did it with his own money. After he won the Prix Goncourt in 1919 for his work on the second volume, Proust became world famous and was treasured as one of the greatest writers of his age. *The first volume is "Swann's Way" and the second is "Within a Budding Grove".

From Quiz A Confusion of Authors

Answer: Margaret Mead

Margaret Mead (1901-1978) was an American author and public speaker whose works were related to the cultural differences in gender roles between the U.S. and other countries. Most of her field work was in the South Pacific and her first novel "Coming of Age in Samoa" was published in 1928. It was followed by "Growing up in New Guinea" in 1930. Both of these books openly explored sexuality, morals, and gender related issues. She encouraged others to be more open to those who were different from themselves. She was a cultural anthropologist who managed to open of this field of study to the general population. This was at a time before computers and television made this information accessible and at a time when even openly discussing many of these issues was taboo.

From Quiz What Did I Write?

Answer: "A Night to Remember"

The story I'm describing is "A Night to Remember". The book chronicles the final hours of the Titanic. Mr Lord interviewed approximately sixty survivors before turning their vivid recollections into this fantastic novel.

From Quiz What A Story! The Incredible Ten!

Answer: Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) was one of the best European writers of all time. He is known both for his poems and novels, which include "Les Miserables", "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and many others. He played a pivotal role in the Romantic movement during the 19th century.

From Quiz My Baby Loves A Bunch of Authors

Answer: Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Gabriel Garcia Marquez was born in Colombia in 1927. He rose to fame with the publication in 1967 of "One Hundred Years of Solitude", which became his most commercially successful novel. He is primarily known for his novels and short stories, for which he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982. The first verse of the song "My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors" goes: "Well you should see my story reading baby, you should hear the things that she says, She says, 'Hon, drop dead, I'd rather go to bed with Gabriel Garcia Marquez.'"

From Quiz Read All About It. Who Was the Author?

Answer: Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

"Slaughterhouse-Five" is Kurt Vonnegut's semi-autobiographical account of his WWII experiences as a prisoner of war in Dresden. The alien abduction part? Probably less autobiographical...

From Quiz What is the Name of the Author?

Answer: Stephen King

Born in Portland, Maine on September 21, 1947, Stephen King has written over 50 novels and almost 200 short stories, many of which have been made into movies or mini-series. A great quote from King is, "People think that I must be a very strange person. This is not correct. I have the heart of a small boy. It is in a glass jar on my desk".

From Quiz Write On!

Answer: Isabel Allende

"The House of the Spirits" was Allende's first novel, and was later made into a movie. Despite harsh criticism by some of her literary peers, Allende's contributions to Latin American literature have been recognized by her numerous international awards.

From Quiz Prose and Cons

Answer: Dan Brown

Author Dan Brown is the author of a number of books, beginning with his first novel "Digital Fortress", published in 1998. He is most notably known for the series that features his character made famous in the movies by Tom Hanks, symbologist Robert Langdon. The first three books featuring Langdon are "Angels & Demons" (2000), "The Da Vinci Code" (2003), and "The Lost Symbol" (2009). "The Da Vinci Code", with its story questioning the traditionally accepted biblical depiction of Christ and Mary Magdalene, was very controversial.

From Quiz Classical Literature

Answer: Romeo and Juliet

The 'misunderstanding' is caused by Juliet faking her death. Romeo doesn't get the message from the Friar that says Juliet isn't dead, and kills himself. Juliet then finds Romeo dead and uses his dagger to kill herself.

From Quiz Jane in the Jungle With a Twist

Answer: Of Mice and Men

While the time span of this classic is a mere four days, the story encompasses a lifetime worth of dreams of a better life, friendship, love, death, companionship and loneliness. Lennie and George, the main characters in this Steinbeck classic, are two field laborers in the 1930s, struggling to get along as they rely on each other - complete each other - and strive to attain their dreams. The novel depicts a tragic world, where love often leads to death, and where freedom is little more than an illusion. Published in 1937, the title 'Of Mice and Men' comes from a poem by Robert Burns.

From Quiz Famous Writers

Answer: Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was the most popular authors of the Victorian Era. His many still famous stories are known for their serial-ism and cliffhangers.

From Quiz A Remembrance of Books Past

Answer: Morton Thompson

I loved this book as I have always had a fascination with the study of medicine. I also loved its setting which begins in the early 20th century, when the protagonist, young Lucas Marsh, accompanies the local doctor in his buggy as he makes house-calls. The love of the profession of medicine corrupts Lucas's character as he uses anyone and anything to be a successful doctor. One of the other reasons I included this novel is that it depicts an era in medicine which is not familiar today. House calls anyone?

From Quiz Whose Plot Is It Anyway?

Answer: "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov

"Lolita" was shocking to the readers of the 1950s. Its themes of sexual deviance and murder could have damned this book into obscurity, but it survived and emerged as a classic. It showcases some of Nabokov's best work; his poetic prose and his ability to place humanity under the harshest of scrutiny.

From Quiz The Well of Lost Plots

Answer: George Orwell

George Orwell wrote "Animal Farm" in 1945. It is about farm animals who run the humans off the farm. Snowball is a pig who ruled for a time, and the farm was very prosperous and happy. Then Napoleon ran Snowball off the farm and began to rule the animals in much the same way as the humans had. The animals, however, did not realize how horrible a ruler Napoleon was. If Orwell had written a sequel, no doubt Snowball would have come back to make their lives much better for the animals!

From Quiz Authors (Quartette)

Answer: Ellis Peters

Ellis Peters' Cadfael series features the Welsh medieval monk at Shrewsbury's Monastery of Saints Peter and Paul. One feature I especially enjoy about the series is learning about medieval monastic life, including all the terms, totally new to me, dealing with everyday objects.

From Quiz Favourite Authors

Answer: Skipping Christmas

Hollywood made a film of it which was titled "Christmas with the Kranks" which starred Jamie Lee Curtis and Tim Allen.

From Quiz Author! Author!

Answer: John Grisham

Other well-known books by John Grisham are "A Time to Kill" and "Runaway Jury".

From Quiz Who Wrote That?

Answer: Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh (Scotland) in 1859. His higher education was at University of Edinburgh Medical School. "The Mystery of the Sasassa Valley" (his first story, published in 1879), "Waterloo" (1907), and "The Last Galley" (1911) are some of his other famous works. He died on July 7, 1930.

From Quiz Name That Author

Answer: Dan Brown

"The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons" both feature Robert Langdon as the main character. In "Deception Point" the main character is Rachel Sexton.

From Quiz Background of Famous Fiction

Answer: Marcel Proust

Proust was a "curious" personality. He wrote from bed ... and often did not leave his home for extended periods while engaged in writing.

From Quiz Books I Was Forced to Read

Answer: Women in Love

D.H. Lawrence was a high school dropout, but eventually, after some private tutoring, he went on to college and earned a teaching certificate.

From Quiz Who Wrote This Classic?

Answer: Alexandre Dumas

Dumas also wrote 'The Three Musketeers.'

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