Characters in Search of an Author Quiz

Answer: Truman Capote

Holly Golightly is the protagonist of Truman Capote's "Breakfast at Tiffany's", originally published in 1958. Holly is a small town girl who came to the big city (New York). She has become part of "cafe society" which means she doesn't have a job except to socialize with wealthy men who buy her dinners and give her jewelry and money. Capote calls her an "American Geisha". Truman Capote (1924-1984) also authored best-sellers such as "In Cold Blood" and "Murder by Death".

Answer: Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"The Little Prince" or "Le Petit Prince" is a novella published in 1943. The character was created by French writer, poet and aviator, Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900-1944). The story of the little prince is told by a narrator as he listens to the tale of the prince's life on an asteroid (B 612), and hears his wonderful outlook about seeing things with your heart. According to wikipedia, the novella is the fourth best-selling one-volume book of all time.

Answer: Harper Lee

Atticus Finch is the protagonist in "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Nelle Harper Lee (1926-2016) who was born in Monroeville, Alabama. Published in 1960, it was Lee's only novel until "Go Set a Watchman" in 2015. Set in the South, "To Kill a Mockingbird" is the story of a principled attorney who defends a black man charged with rape.

The book was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and, in 2007, Lee was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Answer: Chuck Palahniuk

"Fight Club" is a novel by American author Chuck Palahniuk. The novel was published in 1996, and was followed by David Fincher's 1999 movie starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt. The premise depicts an unnamed man who meets a soap salesman named Tyler Durden and the two form an underground club. "First rule of Fight Club: You do not talk about fight club...". Chuck was born in the state of Washington in 1962.

His other novels include "Survivor" and "Choke".

Answer: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Nick Carraway is the narrator and one of the central characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel "The Great Gatsby". The story is set in the summer of 1922 in West Egg, Long Island, New York. The antithesis of Gatsby's flamboyant character, Nick is the quiet observer of the extravagant life in the "jazz age". Fitzgerald (1896-1940) was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. Among his other novels are "This Side of Paradise" and "Tender Is the Night".

Answer: Vladimir Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977) was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. In addition to being a writer, he was also an entomologist. In 1955, his novel "Lolita" was published in Paris. The novel's protagonist, Humbert Humbert, is a middle-aged literature professor who falls madly in love with the 12-year-old "nymphet" Lolita.

Originally the book was considered pornographic and banned in Europe. It has since been made into films and is now considered a classic.

Answer: J.D. Salinger

As a teenager, one of my favorite books was "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger (1919-2010). First published in novel form in 1951, we are introduced to Holden Caulfield, the 17-year-old narrator of the tale. He describes his life, his loves and his family, all in flashbacks which began on a Saturday, the previous December, at Pencey Prep. What I didn't realize was that he was telling the story from a sanitarium. Sadly, this was the reclusive author's only novel.

Answer: Douglas Adams

Ford Prefect (aka lx) is a galactic hitchhiker, alien journalist and friend of Arthur Dent in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". The science fiction comedy was written by British author Douglas Adams (1952-2001) and originally broadcast on BBC radio in 1978, and published the following year.

It is the first of five books in the "trilogy" about Arthur Dent's life after Earth. The rest of the "trilogy" includes "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" from 1982.

Answer: George Orwell

For more science fiction, we have George Orwell's dystopian "1984", published in 1949, and too often prophetic of things to come. The setting is Oceania which is ruled by Big Brother and "The Party" who use "Thought Police" to ensure that there is no independent thought or opposition. Winston Smith is our antihero who enters into a forbidden relationship and pays the price. Orwell (1903-1950) was a British writer whose themes include opposition to totalitarianism.

Answer: L.M. Montgomery

Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) gave us the 1908 children's book "Anne of Green Gables". Set in Prince Edward Island in the late 1890s, the story focuses on the adventures of an 11-year-old orphan named Anne Shirley. Anne was sent by mistake to middle-aged siblings who wanted to adopt a boy to help with the farm chores; but her imagination and resilience help her survive and thrive. L.M. Montgomery was, herself, born on Prince Edward Island, Canada.