A Picture of British Lit! Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Silver Chair

C.S. Lewis was actually born in Belfast, Ireland in 1898. He spent the vast majority of adult life teaching at Oxford University (1925-1954) although he also taught at Cambridge University for nine years (1954-1963). Perhaps his best known literary works include the seven-book fantasy series he wrote for children set in the mythical world of Narnia.

The first book published was the "Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" (1950), with the last book being "The Last Battle" (1956). "The Silver Chair" was written in 1953 as the 4th published book, but many authorities suggest it chronologically fits as the 6th book in the reading series. Sadly, Clive Staples Lewis died at only 64 years of age on November 22nd 1963, the very same day as President John F. Kennedy and fellow author Aldous Huxley.

Answer: Black Beauty

Anna Sewell wrote only one book, but that book has earned her a place among some of the literary giants of the mid-19th century. "Black Beauty" was published in 1877, only five months before Sewell passed away from a battle with hepatitis. She had written the book as a treatise against the maltreatment and cruel conditions facing the working horse in industrial Great Britain.

Answer: Middlemarch

Mary Ann Evans or George Eliot was one of the leading novelists of the Victorian era. Some of her most well known works include: "Adam Bede" (1859), "The Mill on the Floss" (1860), "Silas Marner" (1861), "Romola" (1863), and "Middlemarch" (1871). "Middlemarch" is a book set in a fictitious town in the midlands which introduces the reader to a very large cast of characters exploring subjects such as religion, politics, education, the nature of marriage, and the role of the woman in 1830s England.

Answer: A Tale of Two Cities

Scholars of British literature regard Charles Dickens to be the greatest of all of the Victorian authors. Dickens was a prolific writer who authored 15 novels, 5 novellas, and hundreds of short stories. As of 2014, "A Tale of Two Cities" remains as the number one best-selling novel of all-time with over 200 million copies sold all over the world.

It is regarded as one of the finest examples of literary fiction ever written. The novel follows the lives of several characters in London and Paris in the years preceding the French Revolution.

Answer: Through the Looking Glass

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, or Lewis Carroll, was an Oxford scholar of mathematics. However, the world remembers him best for his writing accomplishments, notably authoring "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and its sequel "Through the Looking Glass." In the latter adventures, Alice enters Wonderland through a mirror on the mantle.

Answer: The Jungle Book

Rudyard Kipling is another famous author the British make a claim to, although he was born in Mumbai India on December 30th 1865. He was a talented writer that is known for his short stories and descriptive tales of life in India. His most famous contributions to British literature are in the short stories published as the "Just So Stories" and "The Jungle Book".

Intimate letters suggest that Kipling wrote "The Jungle Book" stories for his daughter Josephine who died at the tender age of 6-years.

Answer: The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher

Beatrix Potter was born in London on July 28th, 1866. She is best known as a writer and illustrator of children's books. Her most famous and well known works include, "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" and "The Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle." "The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher" sees a well-dressed anthropomorphic frog setting out to catch minnows for a dinner party he wishes to throw for his friends. On his adventures he narrowly avoids being eaten by a hungry trout.

Answer: Twelfth Night

The most successful playwright in the history of the world is the English bard William Shakespeare. Born in 1564, he lived for 52 years during which time he is credited with penning 38 plays and 154 sonnets. "Twelfth Night" was written as a comedy around 1602 and originally was named "What you Will." It is believed that Shakespeare was commissioned to write the play with the purpose of it being a celebration to close out the Christmas season.

Answer: The Fellowship of the Ring

Of course no quiz on British literature would be complete without mention of Middle-earth's creator J.R.R. Tolkien. Although the British claim him, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was actually born in Bloemfontein South Africa in 1892. He is of course known for the Hobbit and the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. "The Fellowship of the Ring" was published in 1954 and begins the adventures of Frodo Baggins, Sam Gamgee, Merry Brandybuck, and Pippin Took as they set out on an adventure to cast the evil ring into the fiery depths of Mount Doom. Accompanying them on the quest is Gandalf the wizard, Legolas the elf, Gimli the dwarf, and the two humans Aragorn and Boromir.

The second and third books in the trilogy are "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King."

Answer: The Mousetrap

"The Mousetrap" opened in London's west-end on November 25th 1952 at the Ambassador's Theater. Its official debut was in Nottingham on October 6th of the same year where it was met with standing ovations. In November of 2012, the play celebrated its 25,000th performance in the London west-end.

Interestingly, as per Dame Agatha Christie's wishes, the play, in 2014, had yet to be officially published in England. She specifically wanted to wait until the play had completed its west-end run. Agatha Christie has published in excess of 2 billion novels. According to her family, only William Shakespeare and the Bible have had more publications in print.