A Novel Approach To Novels Trivia Quiz

Answer: "Twilight," by Stephenie Meyer

Stephenie Meyer began weaving her tangled web of vampires, werewolves, young love, and fog-shrouded teen angst in 2005 with the publication of "Twilight," the first in a series of four wildly successful novels which chronicle the saga of teenager Bella Swan and her great love, Edward Cullen, a 104-year-old vampire.

The novels detail their developing romance, marriage, and parenthood against a backdrop of high school cliques, vampire history and palace intrigue, werewolf tribalism, and animal behaviorism. Imprinting, anyone?

Answer: "The Sun Also Rises," by Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway wrote "The Sun Also Rises" in 1926. It tells the story of a group of expatriates living in Paris who travel to Pamplona, Spain for the Festival of San Fermin, which includes bullfighting and the famous Running of the Bulls. Although not strictly autobiographical, the novel mirrors many of the activities and experiences of Hemingway and his group of associates, who were based in Paris in the years following World War I. (A fanciful portrait of this demimonde, including a hilarious take on Hemingway himself, can be found in Woody Allen's film "Midnight in Paris.")

Answer: "Persuasion," by Jane Austen

"Persuasion" was Jane Austen's last novel. It was published - bound together with "Northanger Abbey" - at the end of 1817, the year in which she died. It is regarded by many scholars as her most autobiographical novel; much of it taking place in Bath, where Austen had lived for several years. Anne Elliot is her oldest heroine, being 27 at the time of the book's major action. How ancient! The book's advocacy of thinking for oneself and being true to one's own nature and principles, despite the toxic meddling of family and friends, is a timeless message.

Answer: "One Hundred Years of Solitude," by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a national hero of Colombia, a Nobel-Prize-Winning author who wrote "One Hundred Years of Solitude" in 1967. It is considered his masterpiece from among a career output which also included journalism, short stories, non-fiction, screenwriting, and autobiography.

The novel was written in the magical realist style as a metaphor for the founding and history of Colombia. The events are seen through the annals of the Buendia family, whose patriarch founded the mythical city of Macondo, which stands for Colombia. Through seven generations of the family's history we also see the development of Colombia.

Answer: "To Kill a Mockingbird," by Harper Lee

One of the most honored novels in American literature, "To Kill a Mockingbird," published in 1960, was the first novel written by Harper Lee. It won the Pulitzer Prize and has been taught in schools all over the world almost since its publication. It is justifiably praised for its story of a small-town Alabama lawyer in the Great Depression, his children, and his courageous defense of a Black man unjustly charged with raping a white woman.

However, since it is told through the eyes of the children, particularly Scout, the daughter, it is the book's story of their trust, love, and acceptance of differences that resonates just as strongly.

Answer: "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," by Mark Twain

"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" was published in 1885 and is considered one of the greatest American novels. Its story of Huck's flight down the Mississippi with the fugitive slave Jim is well known; as is its powerful anti-slavery message and controversial language. Since its publication many communities have banned it from their libraries; still others have kept it from being taught in their schools. Mark Twain believed these bans were hypocritical and likened "Huckleberry Finn"'s situations and language to comparable instances in the Bible.

He also believed all the controversy actually made his book MORE popular.

Answer: "Wuthering Heights," by Emily Bronte

Published in 1847 under the pen name of "Ellis Bell," "Wuthering Heights" was the only novel written by Emily Bronte. Its publication occurred after the success of her sister, Charlotte Bronte, whose "Jane Eyre," came out earlier that year. Emily Bronte died within a year of the novel's release. Though remembered for its story of the passionate love between Heathcliff and Cathy; her marriage to another and Heathcliff's subsequent jealousy and vengeful actions provide the motivation for the bulk of the book's action.

Answer: "Things Fall Apart," by Chinua Achebe

"Things Fall Apart," was published in 1958 and is regarded as a signal accomplishment in African literature. In writing a novel about an African culture in English, Chinua Achebe opted against the written form of his native tongue, Igbo, because the written language had been constructed largely by Europeans from several Igbo dialects and because he believed the resulting language was unsuited to the novel form. "Things Fall Apart" examines such cultural values as ambition, pride, materialism, patriarchy, self-sufficiency, and marital fidelity and the effect of European colonization on indigenous cultures trying to maintain such values.

The novel has been translated into more than 50 languages; is taught in schools throughout the world; and is frequently included in listings of the world's greatest books.

Answer: "Rebecca," by Daphne du Maurier

Published in 1938, "Rebecca" was Daphne du Maurier's most successful novel amongst a six-decade literary output that included other novels and non-fiction books, short stories, and plays. "Rebecca" is quite a story! But what else are we to expect of a man whose middle name is "Fortescu"? In 1940 "Rebecca" was adapted for the screen by Alfred Hitchcock and won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Answer: "Bleak House," by Charles Dickens

An early example of destroying a village in order to save it, "Bleak House" chronicles the generations-long litigation in the perfectly-named case of Jarndyce v. Jarndyce, a battle between beneficiaries of conflicting wills. A former law clerk, Dickens was no fan of the British legal system; and he wrote "Bleak House" in 1852-53 as a serial to lampoon its many faults.

A cavalcade of quintessential Dickensian characters (quiz author's favorites: Lord and Lady Dedlock), "Bleak House" eventually has its case resolved, but no litigants actually get any money because it all goes to legal costs!