You Snooze, You Lose Trivia Quiz

Answer: Miss Marple

Miss Jane Marple is the central character in several of Agatha Christie's short stories, plus twelve full-length novels. 'Sleeping Murder' is a novel about a young newly-wed woman who coincidentally (and unwittingly) sets up home with her husband in the same house where she had witnessed the murder of her stepmother when she was a small child. Meeting Miss Marple, she confides in her that she has a strange feeling about the house, as if she had known it before. Miss Marple, while staying with friends nearby is naturally able to solve the mystery.

Dame Agatha Christie was born in Torquay, Devon in 1890 and died on 12 January 1976 aged 85. 'Sleeping Murder' was published in October 1976, shortly after her death, and was the last of her novels to be published. It was written either during or shortly after World War II, as was 'Curtain', her last novel featuring Hercule Poirot, with the intention that both books should only be published posthumously, although the publication of 'Curtain' in fact preceded her death by a few months. The last Miss Marple novel Agatha Christie actually wrote was 'Nemesis', which was published in 1971.

Answer: Pyotr Tchaikovsky

'The Sleeping Beauty' ballet, based on the enduring fairytale by Charles Perrault, was written by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It is one of the world's most famous classical ballets and premiered in St Petersburg in 1890 before opening in Moscow in 1899. It has been produced by many of the world's foremost venues including London's Royal Opera House and Royal Festival Hall, and Milan's La Scala.

Answer: The Dormouse

The Dormouse in 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' spends most of his time asleep at the tea table, waking only to say a few words which make little sense to Alice, before relapsing into sleep again. In Tim Burton's 2010 film 'Alice in Wonderland', the part of the Dormouse is voiced by Barbara Windsor, and Johnny Depp stars as The Hatter.

Lewis Carroll was born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson in 1832 in Cheshire, and died in Surrey in 1898. As well as being a writer he was also a mathematician and an Anglican deacon. 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' was first published in 1865. The memorable illustrations were drawn by Sir John Tenniel (1820-1914); he also illustrated the book's sequel, 'Alice Through the Looking-Glass', which was first published in 1871.

Answer: railway sleepers

The term for railroad ties in the UK (and also Australia and elsewhere) is railroad sleepers. Many are still made of wood although the use of concrete sleepers is increasing. They are very solidly constructed (and very heavy!) and being pre-treated last a long time. Many uses for used sleepers have become popular for various constructions in and around the home including 'oak' beams, raised beds for planting, small garden retaining walls, garden dividers, decking etc., which has the benefit of recycling them as well as giving them a new lease of life.

Answer: in the cupboard under the stairs

When Dumbledore had placed baby Harry in the care of his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon after his parents had been killed by Lord Voldemort, the Dursleys treated Harry and their own son, Dudley, very differently. While Dudley enjoyed all the excesses life had to offer, poor Harry was fed a meagre diet, and forced to sleep in the small, cramped cupboard under the stairs.

It was only when he was eleven years old and discovered his wizarding background and was taken by Hagrid to Hogwarts that he had a happy life for the first time. Frightened of his new powers, the Dursleys then let Harry have his own bedroom when he came 'home' for the holidays; this had been his spoilt cousin Dudley's second bedroom and he only relinquished it very reluctantly!

Answer: Sam and Annie

The film centres on widower Sam Baldwin and newspaper reporter Annie Reed, and the sterling efforts of Sam's son, Jonah, to find a new wife for his father. Sam had taken part in a radio programme talking about his loneliness since losing his wife, and several women write to him, including Annie. Jonah liked Annie's letter very much, but his father was reluctant to meet her, so Jonah decides to take matters into his own hands. The film follows his efforts, aided and abetted by his friend Jessica, to bring his father and Annie together, with the hoped-for happy ending.

'Sleepless in Seattle' was a major box-office success and was nominated for several awards, Meg Ryan winning the American Comedy Award for Funniest Actress in a Leading Role. Child actor Ross Malinger was also honoured with a Young Artist Award for Best Actor Under Ten in a Motion Picture for his part as Jonah Baldwin.

Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan also starred together in 'Joe Versus the Volcano' in 1990 and 'You've Got Mail' (1998).

Answer: Hamlet

'To sleep, perchance to dream, ay, there's the rub'. This quotation comes from Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' and is part of his famous 'To be or not to be' soliloquy about his thoughts of suicide, and death in general, following his earlier shocking discovery that his father has been murdered by his uncle, Claudius, in order to marry Hamlet's mother and succeed to the throne of Denmark. The full title of the play is 'The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'. It was written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1602.

Shakespeare made many allusions to sleep in his plays. One of my favourites is 'We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep', said by Prospero in 'The Tempest' (Act IV, Scene 1).

Answer: ovine

'Counting sheep' as a way to help you get to sleep has been around for thousands of years. The same theory, using goats, was described in Miguel de Cervantes' 1605 novel 'Don Quixote' and may have had its roots in an even earlier Spanish work, 'Disciplina Clericalis' dating from the 12th century. The theory about counting sheep is that it results in concentration on something so mundane that it keeps other worries at bay, although more modern methods of lulling oneself to sleep have been found more successful, such as thinking of something relaxing, like a waterfall.

The adjectives used to describe groups of animals are correctly known as collateral adjectives. In the choices above ovine relates to sheep, equine to horses, caprine to goats, and murine to mice.

Answer: Philip Marlowe

'The Big Sleep', first published in 1939, was Raymond Chandler's first novel featuring Los Angeles private detective Philip Marlowe. Raymond Chandler completed seven 'Marlowe' novels during his lifetime. An eighth, 'Poodle Springs', which he had started before his death in 1959, was finished by author Robert B Parker and published thirty years later, in 1989, at the request of his family.

Humphrey Bogart starred in the 1946 film 'The Big Sleep' as Philip Marlowe. The film was remade in 1978, this time starring Robert Mitchum in the title role. Other actors to have portrayed Marlowe over the years include Robert Montgomery, Elliott Gould and James Garner.

Answer: Petula Clark

Petula Clark's 1967 hit 'Don't Sleep in the Subway', written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent, charted at number five in the US and number twelve in the UK. The song has also been covered by several other singers including Frank Sinatra and Matt Munro.

Petula Clark was born in Epsom, Surrey, in 1932. As well as her long singing career she has also had considerable success in films, radio and television, where she started off as a child star. She has received many awards for her music over her extensive career. She also received a nomination for a Golden Globe award for Best Actress in the Motion Picture Musical or Comedy category for her part in the 1968 film 'Finian's Rainbow', in which she starred opposite Fred Astaire, who was also nominated.