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Quiz about Classic Authors LesserKnown Works
Quiz about Classic Authors LesserKnown Works

Classic Authors - Lesser-Known Works Quiz

In an ongoing mission to convince people that great literature extends far beyond the books forced upon us in high school, this is a quiz concerning some recommended lesser-known works by great authors. Simply pick which work I'm describing and learn!

A multiple-choice quiz by firemaple783. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
firemaple783
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
219,907
Updated
Feb 20 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Difficult
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
454
Last 3 plays: heatherpipe (0/10), Guest 82 (6/10), jmel2 (4/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. What is the title of Nathaniel Hawthorne's first novel, sometimes called "amateurish," that the author himself attempted to suppress soon after self-financing its publication? Hint


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Question 2 of 10
2. With events including an accidental bombing incident perpetrated by the RAF, George Orwell wrote this comic novel about a man who tires of his life and becomes determined to return to his roots. Hint


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Question 3 of 10
3. In this early sometimes-comic novel about rural Russian life, Fyodor Dostoevsky pokes fun at a narrator he describes as being "not unlike myself." Hint


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Question 4 of 10
4. This is Vladimir Nabokov's story of a Russian professor who becomes entangled in a web of academic conspiracies that play out at a climactic faculty party. Hint


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Question 5 of 10
5. What precursor to the ambitious "Middlemarch" shows George Eliot's deep interest in political and sociological concerns in Victorian England? Hint


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Question 6 of 10
6. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the renowned author of the Sherlock Holmes stories, wrote this historical adventure novel about a band of archers set in the 14th century. Even though Doyle believed it to be his best work, it is not as well known as the legendary detective. Which novel is it? Hint


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Question 7 of 10
7. Although Gustave Flaubert is best known for having written "Madame Bovary," this extensively researched work describing Ancient Carthage is often referred to as his masterpiece. Hint


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Question 8 of 10
8. Known for his rousing adventure stories, what entertaining Jack London short novel tells the story of a young man who inadvertantly becomes entangled with seafaring thieves? Hint


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Question 9 of 10
9. A writer often concerned with economics, Sinclair Lewis wrote what compellingly psychological novel about an automobile magnate who finds himself free-floating after his company is bought out? Hint


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Question 10 of 10
10. What collection of John Steinbeck's fascinating dispatches written during World War II stands as a testament to the author's considerable journalistic skills? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Oct 09 2024 : heatherpipe: 0/10
Sep 26 2024 : Guest 82: 6/10
Sep 24 2024 : jmel2: 4/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. What is the title of Nathaniel Hawthorne's first novel, sometimes called "amateurish," that the author himself attempted to suppress soon after self-financing its publication?

Answer: Fanshawe

 "The Snow-Image" was Hawthorne's continuation of the beloved short story collection, "Twice-Told Tales," while "The Marble Faun" was Hawthorne's last finished novel--notable for being the author's only major work to take place outside New England. "Israel Potter" was Herman Melville's attempt to rejuvinate his career after the crushing disappointment of his controversial novel "Pierre."
2. With events including an accidental bombing incident perpetrated by the RAF, George Orwell wrote this comic novel about a man who tires of his life and becomes determined to return to his roots.

Answer: Coming Up For Air

 "The Road to Wigan Pier" and "Down and Out in Paris and London" are both nonfiction works by Orwell noted for their technically uneven writing and passionate sympathy for the working classes. "Butterfield 8" is an often overlooked novel deserving a place among author John O'Hara's best works.
3. In this early sometimes-comic novel about rural Russian life, Fyodor Dostoevsky pokes fun at a narrator he describes as being "not unlike myself."

Answer: The Village of Stepanchikovo

 "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man" is one of Dostoevsky's particularly bleak short stories, "Old Fashioned Farmers" is a short story by Nikolai Gogol, and "Petersburg" is Andrei Bely's surrealist masterpiece about the title city.
4. This is Vladimir Nabokov's story of a Russian professor who becomes entangled in a web of academic conspiracies that play out at a climactic faculty party.

Answer: Pnin

 "Papillon" is the story of author Henri Charriere's daring escape from imprisonment in French Guiana, "Sanctuary" is William Faulkner's brutal novel about a group of people who come together and do horrible things in Tennessee, while "Another Country" is a fiery work by James Baldwin dealing with racism and sexual boundaries.
5. What precursor to the ambitious "Middlemarch" shows George Eliot's deep interest in political and sociological concerns in Victorian England?

Answer: Felix Holt, the Radical

 While also predating "Middlemarch," Eliot's "Amos Barton" is a relatively unambitious story of a middle-aged clergyman, much more along the lines of "Silas Marner." "The Way We Live Now" is a widely read work by Anthony Trollope and "The Mayor of Casterbridge" is one of Thomas Hardy's most revered novels.
6. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the renowned author of the Sherlock Holmes stories, wrote this historical adventure novel about a band of archers set in the 14th century. Even though Doyle believed it to be his best work, it is not as well known as the legendary detective. Which novel is it?

Answer: The White Company

 "The Lost World," another work by Doyle, deals with explorers in a hidden jungle filled with dinosaurs, "The Adventures of Captain Hatteras," is by another pioneer of science-fiction, Jules Verne, while "Kenilworth" is one of Walter Scott's weighty tomes about Elizabethan England.
7. Although Gustave Flaubert is best known for having written "Madame Bovary," this extensively researched work describing Ancient Carthage is often referred to as his masterpiece.

Answer: Salambo

 "Kim" is Rudyard Kipling's beloved tale of India, "Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress" is Daniel Defoe's tragic "autobiography" of a social climber, and "The Sign of the Four" is one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's many Sherlock Holmes stories.
8. Known for his rousing adventure stories, what entertaining Jack London short novel tells the story of a young man who inadvertantly becomes entangled with seafaring thieves?

Answer: The Cruise of 'The Dazzler'

 "The Cruel Sea" is Nicholas Monsarrat's sprawling novel about warfare at sea, "Omoo" is a continuation of Herman Melville's first novel, "Typee," based on Melville's adventures in the south seas, and "The Tale of the Unknown Island" is a brief fairy tale by Jose Saramago.
9. A writer often concerned with economics, Sinclair Lewis wrote what compellingly psychological novel about an automobile magnate who finds himself free-floating after his company is bought out?

Answer: Dodsworth

 "The Red and the Black" (whose title doesn't refer to corporate profit and loss) was written by Stendahl and noted as one of the first realistic and psychological novels, while "The Financier" and "An American Tragedy" are both works by another economically-minded American, Theodore Dreiser.
10. What collection of John Steinbeck's fascinating dispatches written during World War II stands as a testament to the author's considerable journalistic skills?

Answer: Once There Was A War

 Gustav Hasford's fabulously frightening "The Short-Timers" was the basis for Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket." The military novel "The Night of Time," by Rene Fueloep-Miller, is noted as a skillfull blend of Franz Kafka and Erich Maria Remarque, and William Woodruff's "Vessel of Sadness" is a unique blend of history, fiction, poetry, and journalism about the World War II battle at Anzio.
Source: Author firemaple783

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Referenced Topics
Literature   History   World   People   Mixed Literature   Poetry   Arthur Conan Doyle   Plays   Rudyard Kipling   John Steinbeck   George Orwell   Literary Classics   Thomas Hardy   Herman Melville   Nathaniel Hawthorne   Jules Verne   William Faulkner   Sinclair Lewis   Jack London   George Eliot  

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