Anonymous Title Characters in Books Quiz

Answer: Valentine

The title characters are Valentine and Proteus, noble young men of Verona and best friends. At the start of the play, Valentine departs for Milan, where he will serve at the Duke's court. Proteus has fallen in love with Julia, a local noblewoman.
When in Milan, Valentine gets head over heels in love with Silvia, who is already betrothed to Thurio. Proteus follows Valentine to Milan, and he too falls for Silvia's charms. Now Proteus sets up a scheme that will lead to the downfall of Valentine, and Proteus hopes to get rid of Thurio as well.
Julia misses Proteus and travels to Milan too, disguised as a boy. She arrives there just after Valentine has been sentenced to exile. After an encounter with several outlaws, rumour has it that Valentine died by the sword.
Then Silvia leaves the city, aided by Sir Eglamour (a Milanese nobleman). The outlaws capture Silvia, and two groups chase them to their hideout: Proteus with Julia (still disguised as Sebastian), the Duke with Thurio. In the final, Valentine appears as head of the outlaws, Proteus threatens to duel Valentine, Sebastian faints and reveals to be none other than Julia, and the soldiers come to rescue the Duke. Thurio flees and a double marriage is celebrated: Valentine marries Silvia, and Proteus marries Julia.

Answer: Rand Al'Tor

"Wheel of Time" is a very elaborate fantasy series. The world in which the story evolves fears the return of Shai'tan (the Dark Adversary), who once was locked away by a group led by Lewis Therin Telamon, nicknamed "the Dragon". The story starts with several hints that Shai'tan might break loose, and with the news that Telamon has been reincarnated.
During the first book ("Eye of the World"), we meet Rand Al'Tor, Martrim Cauton, and Perrin Aybara, three young boys from the same village, who gradually show having exceptional abilities. Thom Merrilin seems to be a travelling juggler - but he also has a large role to play in the ensuing events.
In the course of the series Perrin shows the rare ability to communicate with wild wolves, while Martrim is gifted with the full memories of the war against Shai'tan and his followers about a thousand years ago. Rand has very powerful magical abilities, which can only be explained as he is indeed the reincarnation of Lewis Therin Telamon - "The Dragon Reborn".
The village where Rand, Martrim and Perrin grew up has produced also two exceptionally talented young women: Egwene al'Vere and Nynaeve al'Meara. These two grow to master the most powerful magical abilities.

Answer: Dr. Griffin

Herbert George Wells wrote "The Invisible Man" about a certain Dr. Griffin, a medical student who gets obsessed with his work on refraction. Dr. Griffin succeeds in transforming body tissue into invisible matter, and applies the formula to himself. Alas, he has not found any method of reversing the process.
Dr. Griffin takes the criminal path, resorting to arson and theft, and planning to install a "reign of terror". Fleeing from the police, he encounters a former acquaintance of his, Dr. Kemp. The invisible man can't persuade Dr. Kemp to help him with the planned reign of terror, and in the ensuing fight the locals and the police kill Dr. Griffin.
Dr. Moreau is another character created by H.G. Wells. He is a reclusive scientist who conducts experiments on a remote island. "The Island of Dr. Moreau" tells about Edward Prendick, who lands on this mysterious island after a shipwreck. Edward discovers Dr. Moreau experiments on animals and turns them into humanoid hybrids.
Dr. Winkles is a minor character in H.G. Wells' novel "The Food of the Gods". It tells about certain experiments with food that hyper stimulates growth.

Answer: Aragorn, son of Arathorn

All these characters play a major role in defeating the evil forces led by Sauron. Aragorn is a human, once banished and living as a ranger in the north. But his ancestry goes back to Isildur, the king who defeated Sauron several generations ago.
After the Ring of Evil is destroyed in the fire of Mount Doom, Aragorn claims his right as heir to the throne and is crowned as King of Gondor.
Gimli is a dwarf and Legolas an elf. Despite the ancient feud between their races, they become best friends. At the end of the trilogy, Gimli proposes Legolas to visit the finest mines crafted by dwarves, and Legolas accepts on the condition that he show Gimli the finest woods once inhabited by the elves.
Samwise Gamgee is one of the hobbits who deal the decisive blow to Sauron. Sam and Frodo achieve the task set upon them in the first book: to destroy the Ring in the molten lava of Mount Doom. After the coronation of Aragorn, Sam and the other hobbits return to their homes, and Sam becomes Mayor of Hobbiton.

Answer: Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) was an American novelist who won the Nobel Prize in 1954. The best known of his works are "The Sun Also Rises", "A Farewell to Arms", "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and "The Old Man and the Sea". In this last book Hemingway describes a Cuban fisherman only known by his first name Santiago. After having caught nothing for 84 days, Santiago decides to sail far off the coast and cast his lines. A marlin takes the bait, but the fight between Santiago and the fish lasts for at least two days.
Jean de la Fontaine (1621-1695) published many fables, most of them translations from Aesop's ancient Greek stories. In his fable "The Old Man and His Sons", de la Fontaine portrays an aging man carrying a bundle of sticks, bound tightly together. He asks his sons to break the sticks, but each of them fails to do so. Then the old man unwraps the bundle and breaks each stick one by one. The moral of the fable? Unity makes strength.
Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) wrote "The Parable of the Old Man and the Young", a poem in which he retells the Biblical story of Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son Isaac. In the last two verses Owen diverges from the Old Testament: "But the old man would not so, but slew his son, / and half the seed of Europe, one by one." - a clear reference to what happened in Europe between 1914 and 1918.
Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937) left us a very short story "The Terrible Old Man", about a nameless person ("so old that no one can remember when he was young, and so taciturn that few know his real name,") visited by three robbers. The three robbers end up dead by multiple cuts and other injuries.

Answer: Graham Greene

Graham Greene (1904-1991) is the man we're looking for. He wrote several novels and theatre plays with title characters not named in the title: "A Gun For Sale", "The Third Man", "The Quiet American" and "Our Man in Havana".
In the novel chosen for this question, a vacuum cleaner merchant named James Wormold is recruited to make special reports for MI6 (the British foreign intelligence service) during the reign of Fulgencio Batista. Wormold however sends in fake reports, using fake names and very personal interpretations of small newspaper articles. But when Wormold mentions some military installation being set up, the British send in their own people. And then things get very complicated: real people who happen to carry the fake names invented by Wormold, suddenly die in mysterious circumstances.
Ian Fleming is the author of the "James Bond" novels, including the atypical "The Spy Who Loved Me". John le Carré is known for his espionage novels such as "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold". Jack Higgins wrote several thrillers, including "The Eagle Has Landed". 

Answer: Sirius Black

Harry Potter has reached his thirteenth year and is preparing to attend his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. People then warn him that Sirius Black has done what no wizard deemed feasible: Sirius escaped from the prison of Azkaban, where he had to spend the rest of his life because of his conviction as a mass murderer.
Because Sirius is Harry's godfather and the only wizard of his family still alive, the Minister of Magic and his associates fear that Harry might try to contact Sirius. That makes them very worrying.
The judgment which sent Sirius Black to Azkaban states that he killed a number of Muggles as well as his friend Peter Pettigrew, of whose body only one finger was found.
But as it happens frequently in the magical world, things are not what they appear to be at first glance...
Remus Lupin is the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for this year. James Potter, Harry's father, had been killed by Lord Voldemort when Harry was still an infant.
In this book, Harry receives the Marauder's Map, a magical artefact that was made some thirteen years ago by Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black and James Potter - using their nicknames Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. 

Answer: Ford Prefect

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is a project in different media (radio, books, television, etc.). We'll concentrate on the first book out of the series of five ("a trilogy in five parts"). Arthur Dent is living quite comfortably on Earth, when Ford Prefect comes to inform him that in a few minutes the Earth will be destroyed, for the alien race of the Vogons has decided to construct an intergalactic expressway, and Earth happens to move in the way.
Ford Prefect is an intergalactic journalist, born on a planet near Betelgeuse. He is researching for the Guide that gave the title to the first novel, and so he is to be considered as the Hitchhiker. Arthur Dent is only his human companion, albeit rather against his will (he would have liked to finish his bath first).
Ford's cousin Zaphod Beeblebrox briefly acted as President of the Galaxy - a merely ceremonial title held by someone to distract the attention of the real people in power.
Tricia McMillan is the only terrestrial woman to survive the destruction of the Earth, as Arthur Dent is the sole male survivor.
Marvin the Paranoid Android is one of the robots on the spaceship "borrowed" (or rather stolen) by Zaphod Beeblebrox. Marvin states he has 50,000 times the intellect of an average human, which leads him to boredom and depression.

Answer: Sir James Edgerton

In this novel the young amateur sleuths Thomas Beresford and Prudence Cowley (nicknamed Tuppence) are hired in 1919 by the secret intelligence service to investigate the whereabouts of a certain Jane Finn, a passenger on the "Lusitania" who obtained secret documents when the ship sank in 1915. Julius Hersheimmer, a rich American and first cousin of Jane Finn, joins their search and takes the bill for all expenses. During their adventures, they meet Sir James Edgerton, who gives them plenty of advice. One of the suspects is Boris Ivanovich, who finally turns out to be only a minor conspirator. After several mishaps, they finally all end up in a house in Soho, where Sir James takes possession of the documents and intends to kill Tuppence and Jane.

But Julius and Thomas intervene, and Sir James commits suicide.

Answer: Charles Bruno

On a long train journey, the architect Guy Haines meets Charles Bruno. Haines is trying to get a divorce from his wife Miriam, in order to marry Anne Faulkner. Bruno has some grudge (never specified why) against his father. Then Bruno suggests to commit murder and swap the victims: Bruno would kill Miriam, and in exchange Haines would have to kill Bruno's father.
Every normal person would decline Bruno's proposition, but Bruno thinks Haines has accepted and goes ahead with his part of the alleged deal. Under Bruno's pressure, Haines complies with his part of the deal (contrary to the movie adaptation by Alfred Hitchcock).
And what about Frank Pierson, you may ask? He is not in this novel, but he is the anonymous title character in one of Highsmith's other novels: "The Boy Who Followed Ripley".