Arts & Books Mixed Bag 12 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Danielle Steel

Born Danielle Fernande Dominique Schuelein-Steel in New York NY in 1947, Danielle Steel's debut novel, 'Going Home', was published in 1973. As of 2010, she had written more than 70 novels and numerous books for children, and more than 20 of her books have been adapted for film. With more than 600 million books sold, she is in the top 10 of all time highest sellers and is the best-selling female American writer.

Answer: Robert Burns

Robert Burns, the national poet of Scotland, is also known as "Scotland's Favourite Son", "The Ploughman Poet" and "The Bard of Ayrshire". A Scottish icon whose birth is celebrated on January 25 with a national holiday (Burns Night), he wrote many songs and poems that are as well known in English as in the Scottish language in which he also wrote -- "Auld Lang Syne" is sung around the world on New Year's Eve and "Scots Wha Hae" was for a long time the unofficial Scottish national anthem.

Answer: Swan Lake

Tchaikovsky composed in many genres, producing memorable operas and symphonies as well as ballets. Of his three ballets, "Swan Lake" was first performed in 1877, "Sleeping Beauty" made its debut in 1890, and "The Nutcracker" was completed only shortly before the composer's death in 1893. "Fantasia", a concerto rather than a ballet, was completed in 1884.

Answer: Frigg

Queen of Asgard, Frigg is Odin's wife and the goddess with the gift of prophecy. She is the mother of Baldr and Höðr. Fulla is Frigg's foot-maiden in whom she confides her secrets. Gná is the rider of Hófvarpnir, the flying and sea-treading horse. She runs errands and delivers messages for Frigg in other worlds. Sjöfn is the Norse goddess of love.

Answer: Nostromo

Born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski in 1857 in Berdychiv in present-day Ukraine, Joseph Conrad became a British citizen in 1886. That he didn't learn to speak English until in his 20s makes it all the more remarkable that he is considered one of the greatest of all English language novelists. David Lean had been set to direct a film version of 'Nostromo' starring Marlon Brando and Paul Schofield, but his death shortly before filming was scheduled to begin ended the project.

Answer: Giacomo Puccini

The most-performed operas in North America are "Madame Butterfly" and "La Boheme", both written by Puccini. He wrote a total of 10 operas including other favorites such as "Tosca" and "Turandot". The libretto for "Turandot" was still incomplete when Puccini died in 1924, and the opera was first performed two years after his death.

Answer: Rembrandt

Born Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn in Leiden, Netherlands in 1606, Rembrandt is widely considered the most important of all Dutch artists. His most famous work, 'The Night Watch', can be seen at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Answer: Vienna, Austria

"Zentralfriedhof" is the most famous and the largest of around 50 cemeteries in Vienna. In addition to the composers referred to in the question, the cemetery also contains the graves of the rock singer Falco, the actor Curt Jurgens, the film director Georg Pabst, the statesman Karl Renner, the financier Nathaniel von Rothschild, UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim and many other persons of note.

Answer: Ellis Peters

Edith Pargeter was born in Shropshire, England in 1913. As Ellis Peters, she wrote a dozen books about the fictional George Felse and family in addition to 20 novels and three collections of short stories about Brother Cadfael and his associates. The first Cadfael novel, 'A Morbid Taste for Bones', was published in 1977 and set in 1137.

The subsequent novels cover the subsequent eight years of Cadfael's life. Pargeter also wrote under her own name as well as under the pseudonyms John Redfern, Jolyon Carr and Peter Benedict.

Answer: Eugene O'Neill

Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was born in New York City in 1888. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama four times -- in 1920, 1922, 1928 and 1957. In 1936, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. In all, he wrote more than 30 full-length plays in addition to numerous one-act pieces.