A Journey Through My Bookshelves Multiple Choice Quiz | Literature

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The first set of books I come across are from my childhood. They centre around a Boarding School in Austria, which later moves to Wales and then Switzerland. What is the name of this series?

Answer: The Chalet School Series

The "Chalet School" books by Elinor Brent-Dyer were great favourites of many schoolgirls. They had quite a strong moral undertone stressing truth, honesty and team work, and even the naughtiest of girls was eventually redeemed. The very first book "The School At The Chalet" was published in 1925, and the series continued through World War Two and beyond, ending in 1970 with "Prefects Of The Chalet School".

"Mallory Towers" was a series by Enid Blyton.
"Abbey School Series" was by Elsie J Oxenham.
"Greyfriars School Series" (featuring Billy Bunter) was by Frank Richards.

2. Meandering on through the shelves I find a Science Fiction series I had almost forgotten about. Set on a planet dominated by a desert and giant sandworms, what is the title of the first book in this series?

Answer: Dune

"Dune" by Frank Herbert, published in 1965, has been described as the best Science Fiction novel ever written. Frank Herbert wrote five sequels before his death in 1986, and the series was later finished by his son Brian in collaboration with Kevin J Anderson, working from notes left by Frank.

"Martian Chronicles" is by Ray Bradbury.
"Foundation" is by Isaac Asimov.
"Time Enough For Love" is by Robert Heinlein.

3. Right at the front of my bookshelves is a novel I never tire of reading. It is a long-time companion and standby. Written by one of the great authors of the 20th Century it describes events in the only part of Australia left after a nuclear holocaust. What is its title?

Answer: On The Beach

Written by Neville Shute in 1957 "On The Beach" describes an Australian town awaiting death after nuclear war has devastated the world. It is probably his best known novel.

Shute was an aeronautical engineer, and many of his early books have an aviation theme to them. After World War Two he and his family settled in Australia, near Melbourne, and his most popular books, like the other three listed here, have Australia as their backdrop.

4. Sitting neglected in a far corner is a book that I have tried to finish several times but so far without success, and I am not alone in this. Which Russian classic describing the Napoleonic era am I unable to read?

Answer: War and Peace

Written by Leo Tolstoy and published in 1869, "War and Peace" is a very very long book, and I got completely lost as to plot and characters before I was even a quarter of the way through it. It is however generally regarded as Tolstoy's greatest work.

"Anna Karenina" is also by Tolstoy.
"Doctor Zhivago" is by Boris Pasternak.
"Crime and Punishment" is by Dostoevsky.

5. A section of my bookshelves shows that at one time I bought a lot of humourous books. Tom Holt is one of my favourite authors of this genre, combining humour and fantasy together. Which of the following is NOT by him?

Answer: Blott On The Landscape

"Blott On The Landscape" is by Tom Sharpe, another humourous author, but of a very different style to Tom Holt.

Tom Holt tends to base his books on myth and legend, "Expecting Someone Taller" is based on Wagner's "Ring Cycle", "Paint Your Dragon" on the St George slaying the dragon myth, and "Barking" takes werewolves and vampires and puts them in the setting of a modern law firm.

6. Moving swiftly past the Terry Pratchett books we come to a modern author who writes very tense crime and medical thrillers, often featuring serial killers. Whose books feature Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles?

Answer: Tess Gerritsen

"The Surgeon" introduced me to Tess Gerritsen and her feisty detective Jane Rizzoli, who has now appeared in seven novels, with Medical Examiner Maura Isles.

She writes from medical knowledge as she is a qualified physician. Her writing career started when she was on maternity leave from her medical practice in Honolulu and she wrote a short story, entered it for a competition and won.

7. Charles Dickens originally published his books in serial form. Stephen King decided to see if this format would still work and in 1996 published a six part serial novel. What was the title?

Answer: The Green Mile

The experiment of publishing "The Green Mile" in six parts was highly successful, with King fans eagerly awaiting the next installment. The book was later published as one complete novel, but the original six parts grace my bookshelves.

8. As you can probably tell, my bookshelves have not had a good clear out for some time, and lurking at the back I have just come across this classic of doomed love, family feuds, a long lost heiress and foul murder all set against the sweeping background of 17th Century Exmoor. What have I found?

Answer: Lorna Doone

Written in 1869 by R.D. Blackmore "Lorna Doone" was not an immediate success, selling only 300 out of the 500 printed. This was possibly due to it being released as a quite expensive three volume set. The following year it was re-printed as one volume at a much cheaper price, and was a critical and financial success. It has never been out of print since.

"Jane Eyre" is by Charlotte Bronte.
"Wuthering Heights" is the only novel by Emily Bronte.
"Charlotte Gray" is by Sebastian Faulks.

9. I have a complete shelf devoted to Biographies, mainly of theatrical personalities. One of my favourites is "The Moon's a Balloon", which chronicles the life of which actor?

Answer: David Niven

David Niven (1910 - 1983) was an English actor. He starred in "Around The World in 80 Days", "The Pink Panther" and dozens of other films. His early training at Sandhurst Military College gave him a typically English officer and a gentleman type bearing and accent, and he was often cast as the quintessential English gent.

10. I hate to part with books, and the final selection from my shelves was inherited from my Mother, who absolutely loved them. A series spanning one hundred years of one family in Canada, centred around the family estate. Can you name the series?

Answer: Jalna

The "Jalna" series of books, written by Mazo de la Roche, were an extremely popular family saga. Starting with "Whiteoaks of Jalna" published in 1929 there were 16 books in total. They were not in any chronological order and each book could be read as a stand alone story.

"A Horseman Riding By" is by R F Delderfield.
"Anne of Green Gables" is by Lucy Maud Montgomery.
"The Starbridge Series" is by Susan Howatch.

Source: Author StarStruck60

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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A Journey Through My Bookshelves Quiz

See if you can figure out the books on my overcrowded bookshelves from the clues given.

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