Code To Your Mind Trivia Quiz

Answer: Wilfred Owen

Wilfred Owen started writing poetry well before World War I. Most of his early output was influenced by the romantic poets such as Keats and Shelley. It is, however, for his vividly realistic war poems, which detail the full horrors of trench warfare, that he is best known.

After being diagnosed with shell shock he spent time recuperating and was sent to a hospital in Edinburgh for treatment. Here he met Siegfried Sassoon. Whilst in hospital doctors encouraged him to translate his war experiences into poetry to help with his recovery, and Sassoon encouraged him towards realism and away from his previous romantic style.

He returned to the trenches in August 1918 and was shot and killed on 4th November 1918, only days before the armistice. He was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry. Most of his war poems were published posthumously.

Answer: Something Wicked This Way Comes

Ray Bradbury was a prolific science fiction and horror writer. "Something Wicked This Way Comes" is the story of two boys and a travelling fair that is not what it seems, and is one of his best known novels. In 1983 it was made into a film starring Jason Robards and Jonathan Pryce.

Many of his books and short stories were adapted for film or television. "The Martian Chronicles", starring Rock Hudson, was a 1980s mini series, which Bradbury is reported to have found "boring".

Answer: Susan Coolidge

The "What Katy Did" series of books are about a tomboy who becomes crippled after an accident. Her fight back to health and her development as a person go hand in hand. Although set in the 1860s, and talking about values that many now view as old fashioned, they are among my favourite books. Even though they were written for children there is something in them that resonates with my adult self as well. Susan Coolidge put much of her own childhood into Katy, and her own young brothers and sisters were the basis for the younger children in the stories.

Answer: Propellerhead

It all starts because the hero of the book wants to impress girls by saying he is a pilot. He soon discovers that he has no real aptitude for flying, but by then it's too late and he is addicted. The book details the joys of maintaining your own aircraft, flying a microlight in the rain, getting lost and crashing, all done with a gentle humour that has you laughing out loud.

Answer: The Sword in The Stone

Written in 1938 this book is a fantasy based on the legend, and is about the life of the young Arthur. It was intended to be a single book, but ended up as the first part of the four books that make up the series "The Once and Future King". Disney adapted the book to an animated film in 1963.

In 1939 BBC Radio broadcast an adaptation with a musical score by Benjamin Britten. This score disappeared and was thought to have been lost for good. Fortunately it was rediscovered in 1952, so to mark this the BBC broadcast another adaptation of the book, using the original music.

Answer: Felix Dennis

Felix Dennis has a passion for English woods, and the poem "Bluebell Wood" evokes the joys of seeing one on a perfect May day. He set up the Heart of England Forest charity, which aims to plant a native broad leaf forest in Warwickshire. Hopefully his dream will come to fruition and the woodland will not only preserve many native tree species, but also be carpeted with bluebells in the spring. Native British bluebells are now a protected species and it is illegal to take bulbs from the wild.

Answer: Rosie

"Cider with Rosie" published in 1959, is an account of Laurie Lee's childhood in a Gloucestershire village. It is set just after World War I, and tells of everyday village life, in particular the way it was changing due to the coming of cars and farm mechanisation.

It is a look back at childhood, through somewhat rose coloured glasses, by an adult. The descriptions of the everyday life of Lee's family, friends and neighbours are fascinating, especially to those of us who never experienced that much slower pace of life.

Answer: Virginia Smith

When Jackie Hoffner serves up her casserole at a church social supper she finds, to her horror, that someone has spiked it with deadly mushrooms, and she becomes a murder suspect. She is determined to clear her name, so starts her own murder investigation.

She soon discovers that no-one really liked the victim, and quite a lot of people had a motive to kill her. As well as being an amateur detective novel this also has a deeper level. It looks at the effects of gossip not only in church communities, but also in the community in general.

Answer: Needful Things

Set in Stephen King's long-time favourite location of Castle Rock, "Needful Things" is a shop whose proprietor, Leland Gaunt, knows exactly what each person lusts after. He provides it, at a surprisingly low monetary price, but the actual price is much higher.

A nice straightforward good versus evil horror story from the master of the genre, it was his first book after he had come out of rehabilitation for drink and drugs. The book was adapted for film in 1993, and starred Max Von Sydow. It was directed by Fraser Heston, son of famed actor Charlton Heston.

Answer: Peter James

Peter James is not only a best selling author, he is also a well known film producer. His credits include "The Merchant of Venice" (2005) starring Al Pacino. He has been writing books based around Detective Superintendent Roy Grace since 2005, when "Dead Simple", the first in the series, was published.

His 1994 novel "Host" was published by Penguin on two floppy discs as well as in conventional format and was advertised as "The World's First Electronic Novel". He lives in Brighton, and is patron of Sussex Crimestoppers, which reflects his deep interest in police work.