Authors Show Their Colors Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dan Brown

In "The Da Vinci Code", the villain Silas is an albino. Brown also wrote, among other works, "Angels & Demons". Both works have been made into motion pictures.

Answer: False

Stephen Crane's novel is about the Civil War. Originally titled "Private Fleming/His Various Battles," it tells the story of a young private in the Union Army who flees during combat. Ashamed of himself, he responds with courage in his next battle. The novel captures the inner experience of Fleming and presents realistic descriptions of battles.

It is generally acknowledged as one of the great American novels.

Answer: purple

"The Color Purple", published in 1982, won both the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and The National Book Award. It was also made into a successful motion picture. Regrettably, some critics have suggested that the book is racist and that it overly contains graphic scenes of sexual depravity.

Answer: True

This was Tom Clancy's first novel (1984). He has since written such works as "Patriot Games" and "Clear and Present Danger". His recurring character, Jack Ryan, has been played in films by such actors as Alec Baldwin, Chris Pine, Ben Affleck, and Harrison Ford.

Answer: Our Man in Moscow

Graham Greene (1904-1991) published over 25 novels, many of which were made into motion pictures, including "Our Man In Havana". Among his other works are "Brighton Rock", "The Heart of the Matter", and "The End of the Affair." Remarkably, he was able to write these books even though he was bipolar.

Answer: Elwyn Brooks

E.B. White and William Strunk were studied by generations of college students for their text "Elements of Style." E.B. White also wrote the classic "Charlotte's Web."

Answer: Jack London

Jack London, who also wrote "The Call of the Wild" based on his experiences, developed scurvy in the Klondike which plagued him for the rest of his life. Among his other works was "The Sea Wolf". John Jacob Astor, the man who dealt in furs, and for whom Astoria in Oregon is named, went down with the Titanic. William Seward was the Secretary of State who purchased Alaska from Russia. Ira Brenton was my maternal grandfather who trapped furs in Alaska.

Answer: Stendhal

Stendhal's book was published in two volumes in 1930. It depicts the attempt by a young man to advance socially from his modest background. It is classified as a "bildungsroman", (a novel that focuses on the growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood).

Saki was the pen name for H.H. Munro, noted for his satiric short stories. George Eliot was the pseudonym for the novelist Mary Ann Evans ("Silas Marner" and "Middlemarch"), and George Orwell was the name used by Eric Arthur Blair ("Nineteen Eighty-Four" and "Animal Farm").

Answer: Island of the Blue Dolphins

A magnificent children's novel (also enjoyed by most adults), "Island of the Blue Dolphins" was made into a movie in 1964. O'Dell published a sequel, "Zia", in 1976.

Answer: Amy Tan

"The Kitchen God's Wife" is the story of Winnie, a Chinese immigrant who came to America to escape a traditional marriage and the horrors of warfare, and her American-born daughter, Pearl.

Amy Tan is best known for her novel "The Joy Luck Club" (1989), which has been translated into at least 35 languages and was made into a successful motion picture in 1993.